Dreams and Happy Places
by darkangel9314
Summary: Caroline Forbes has always felt like the odd woman out with her crippling anxiety and a best friend who can't be bothered, then one night she meets Klaus Mikaelson, a mysterious stranger with secrets of his own. Now entering her senior year of high school Caroline must now face new challenges and a past that still haunts her to this day, but will she be strong enough to survive?
1. Chapter 1

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 1

It was raining the night that Caroline Forbes met the boy who would forever change her life. Rain drops feel on her forehead as the scent of smoke drifted from her best friend, Elena's cigarette making it almost impossible to stand there and gain access to Damon Salvatore's fraternity party even though they were all way too young to be there. Damon didn't care however, to him the more that were there the merrier. If the cops weren't called, he felt like his old buddies from high school could come whenever they wanted to. Unfortunately for Caroline (who didn't want to be there in the first place) Elena just so happened to be one of those many friends and wherever Elena went Caroline followed.

Elena jabbed her elbow into Caroline's side causing her to turn around sharply to see why the hell she had done that. Her cigarette dropped to the ground as Elena stumped it out looking around to see if anyone was listening into their conversation. She always seemed to use this habit as if she wasn't brave enough to be mean to Caroline while other people were looking at them. No. Those were saved for moments they were truly alone like now when the couple right next to them who Caroline didn't recognize from school were heavily making out. Too distracted with each other to pay attention to what was going on beside them. Caroline craved for moments like that where she could be in ignorant bliss without a care in the world unfortunately that hadn't happened in a while. Not since he had walked out of her life last year and left her to adjust to life without him. She wondered what the hell he was doing now.

"Hello! Earth to Caroline! Are you even paying attention?" Elena asked passing a hand over Caroline's face as if she were in a trance.

"I'm sorry Elena, I guess I was just spacing out to pass the time. What were you saying again?"

Crossing her arms over her chest. Elena glared at Caroline like she usually did when she wasn't paying attention to her causing Caroline to feel rather uncomfortable like she usually did when she pissed off Elena. She was not a girl whose bad side you wanted to get on, ever. Caroline had witnessed head on what Elena could do and she hadn't liked it. Not at all. It was why she had not trusted Elena for a while, but of course she would never tell Elena that to her face. Not unless she had some kind of social death wish.

"I was saying that we should get a move on seeing as how you've been checking that couple making out for five minutes that you haven't noticed that the line has been moving for some time now and you're starting to piss everyone behind the line off."

Cheeks flushing the couple who had been making out in front of her pulled apart suddenly embarrassed as the girl whose long blonde hair reached down to her butt crossed her arms and glared at Caroline and Elena feeling rather pissed off at the interruption as if no one else besides those two would call her out in it. Thankfully after a couple of seconds of unnecessary glaring the boy pulled her to the forest where they could continue there make out fest. Thank God for that.

"Was that really necessary? They weren't hurting anyone." Caroline asked feeling rather defensive of herself after Elena had called her out like that. If there was anyone who could make Caroline feel like a pervert, it was Elena.

"They were ten seconds from needing a room Caroline, I just thought I would save everyone from discarding their dinner in the nearest bush. After all no one really wants to see that."

"Did you really have to embarrass me to make your point though?"

"Someone has to put you in your place every now and again Caroline and I'd rather it be a friend like me than someone else who isn't aware of your situation. After all we don't want a repeat of two years ago now do, we?"

"Why would you even bring that up? I don't need everyone and their mother knowing about that Elena. It's bad enough that you and my mother know, do we really need to bring everyone else into this too?"

"Then do yourself a favor and have some fun with me tonight. I don't want to tell everyone your secret, but I will if I feel like it will help you in the long run."

"Fine. You win. I'll try to have some fun tonight even though school is back in session in two days and we really should be preparing for that."

"I swear you're the only girl I know that actually looks forward to go back to school instead of enjoying her last two days of vacation."

"Please like you aren't looking forward to running the school in our last year plus I don't want to stay out all night because I have a hair appointment with my stylist tomorrow."

A smile crossed Elena's face. "I still can't believe that your baby sister finally convinced you to do something with that boring ass hair of yours. I'm so excited to see what you've done with it."

"I thought you liked my hair."

"I do, but you have to admit your kind of predictable. It would be nice to see some change from you even if it's a small one."

"Now you sound like my therapist."

"No one ever said she wasn't a smart woman."

"I guess you're right. I really do want to try new things this year. I'm tired of being afraid to live all the time."

"You do know no one blames you for acting out these past two years, right? After all you did go through way more than you should have. I know I give you a hard time about it, but I really do want you to get better."

"And I will get better. Just in my own way. Now come on, it looks like we're next and from what I remember you wanted us to have fun tonight."

"I do remember saying something along those lines."

"Come on let's go."

With a smile from Elena, Caroline looped her arm around hers as they made their way to the party of the year.

Music blasted from the sound system as one of the frat boys who oversaw the music played one of the newest hits that Caroline didn't recognize. The room was dark and filled with bodies that were pressed together. Some dancing, some making out and feeling each other out as strobe and black light filled the room reflecting off everyone's clothes except those who were wise enough to wear something darker like Caroline. The last thing she wanted from this party was to be noticed at a party where her and Elena shouldn't even be allowed into much less drinking at like Elena wanted to.

Elena's hand grabbed hers as she weaved her way through the crowd crashing into everyone they could as Elena waved to everyone there who she knew smiling brightly, but that was just who Elena was. Despite all her flaws Elena was quite popular which made being friends with her even more intimidating seeing as how if they hadn't been friends since childhood, Caroline thought that Elena wouldn't have bothered giving her the time of day. Which was why she always tended to stay on Elena's good side, because if somehow her and Elena stopped being friends, she wasn't sure what the hell she would do.

Light illuminated Caroline's pupils making her wince slightly at the sudden change of brightness as she took in the disarrayed state of the kitchen that instantly made her want to get down to her hands and knees to scrub the sticky substance, she would only assume was beer off the floors. The unfathomable stench of booze and B.O mixed in the air as Caroline fought every urge to plug her nose to escape the smell. Like seriously, did these boys even know what wonders a clean house and a hot shower could do for their everyday lives?

Noticing Caroline's hesitation as soon as it was brought on, Elena pulled her to the table where four frat boys were playing beer pong and immediately recognized Damon as they stepped by his side. Elena let go of her hand and embraced Damon while Caroline showed no real signs of giving the same sentiment. She hated hugs. It just wasn't who she was. Damon sent a nod of greeting in her direction as he turned his attention back to Elena who was already homing in on the one skill Caroline knew she mastered in. Flirting with guys she didn't really like to get more information out of them. Caroline didn't really feel sorry for any of them though. They knew what Elena's game was as soon as she opened her mouth to speak of them. It was like they willingly stepped into it just so a girl like her would even acknowledge them occasionally. It was quite sickening really.

"Hey Elena, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Damon smiled getting so close to Elena that Caroline swore he would kiss her right there and then if he had the choice.

Elena rolled her eyes semi annoyed as she looked over to the mess of food that was on the counter beside them.

"Oh, please Damon, What kind of normal teenager talks that way? You are so behind on the times and you just barely got to college. I would hate to see how you talk when you spend a couple years in this place." She said jumping onto the counter causing a few empty cups to knock over and land on the floor.

"Hey." One of the frat guys complained as he stepped forward wanting nothing more than to say something to Elena for her shallowness.

Elena flipped her hair to one side staring dead into his eyes and put on that charming smile of hers just like she always did when she was in any fragment of real conflict.

"Is there a problem here?" She asked challenging him to say something. She was the queen of making scenes when they weren't necessary.

"I wouldn't be acknowledging your existence if I didn't have a problem. What was your name again?"

"Elena." she answered twirling a string of hair around her finger as if she was already dismissing this conversation.

"Well Elena since you obviously are a guest at this frat house, I expect you to follow proper protocol if you make a mess in our kitchen."

"And what's that exactly? Take my top off and wipe the floor with it so you can see perky high school tits or take you to the other room, so I can do you some other favors? I mean what would your fellow brothers think if you were getting sucked off by a seventeen-year-old girl?"

Caroline's eyes focus on the frat boy as he took a step closer to Elena hoping that she wouldn't have to step in the middle of it to stop them. Thankfully for her and her lack of wanting to deal with confrontation, Elena didn't seem to back down and looked far from needing any sort of help. That was Elena for her always not needing help.

He chuckled caressing Elena's cheek as Damon stiffened ready to attack if necessary.

"Trust me Elena, A little narcissistic bitch like yourself isn't my type, but if you're offering something, I wouldn't mind taking you to another room and having you pleasure me. I mean a mouth is a mouth after all, Isn't that right boys?"

A few chuckles surrounded them from the beer pong table as Elena's hand slapped to the right side of the boy's face making him looked stunned when he recovered from it. He lunged forward looking ready to attack Elena as Damon met his body and pushed him back positioning himself in front of the one frat brother he probably didn't want to cross and Elena. Caroline had wished she had been brave enough to do the same.

The guy looked up at narrowed eyes at Damon as everyone else held their breath to see what would happen next.

"What the fuck dude? Are you really ready to give up your position here in order to protect this dick sucking slut?"

"Come on Kai, you need to chill out for a second and see what you're doing here. You're losing you temper over a seventeen-year-old girl who's showing you up. Just let it go and let's all have fun."

Kai spat in Elena's direction causing Caroline to take a step back with her while Damon shook his head.

"Whatever. I'm done here. Just make sure your bitch and her friend don't cause any more trouble. Come on guys. Let's get back to the game."

Mummers of agreement went up into the air while the boys resumed their game, Damon turned back towards them sending an uneasy smile in Elena's direction.

"You know you didn't have to do that right? I'm a big girl and more than capable of taking care of myself." Elena said seeming a little more than irked.

Damon shrugged running a hand through his tousled black hair as the smile grew. It didn't matter how much Elena treated him like shit. He still had a soft spot for her. He just would never admit it no matter how happy she made him. It was why they never had the balls to be together. Not like Caroline could say anything. The only relationship she ever had was with someone who treated her like utter shit and had used her to get exactly what he wanted before he dumped her leaving her in the cold to pursue bigger and better things. But she couldn't think of that now. Not unless she wanted to start randomly crying in front of this room full of strangers.

"I know that. I'm just a little worried for Kai over there. No matter how tough he seems I don't think he's as tough as he looks. Especially not when it comes to a girl like you, Elena Gilbert."

"Now you're just trying to lay on the charm extra thick." she teased even though she couldn't help but smile.

"I'm sorry, I should remember how much you don't like it when people turn on the charm. How about I get you and your friend a beer instead?"

"Oh, Caroline doesn't like beer, but I'll take one." she answered with her man-eating smile.

"Are you sure Caroline? I know these parties can be pretty boring without an alcoholic beverage to make it any more bearable." Damon said acknowledging her for the first time that night.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm not really a beer person." Caroline answered throwing him a kind semi smile.

"Suit yourself." he said with a shrug as he grabbed a beer for him and Elena.

Elena popped the tab off her beer can and guzzled it down taking a break to smile at Damon.

"Do you want to dance?" she asked Damon.

"I'm not much of a dancer, but how could I turn down such a pretty face like yours."

Elena smiled as Caroline tugged on her sleeve causing her to narrow her eyes and swing around to meet her gaze.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked it a quit voice.

"Fine but make it quick. We'll be right back Damon."

Damon gave her a wave of acknowledgment as Caroline took Elena to the corner of the room. Her shoes making noises as she walked because of the floors. Ugh. When they were out of earshot from the boys, Elena turned to Caroline, her nose crinkling like it did when she was really irritated.

"What's this about Caroline?"

"I'm just concerned is all. That was pretty intense back there and I want to make sure you were okay."

"Nothing a can of beer and a cute boy can't fix." she smiled running her hands through her hair and waving at Damon.

"About that. What am I supposed to do when you're hanging out with Damon? I really don't want to feel like a third wheel, but I hardly know anyone here."

"Oh, come on Caroline, Damon almost invited half our senior class here so he could show off his new life and if you don't want to have a conversation with any of those people while there's a ton of cute college guys and girls for that matter if that's what you're into. Now go ahead and make some new friends. Trust me, you'll have more fun that way. And do us all a favor and have a drink to take the edge off. It'll be way more fun for the rest of us."

Before Caroline could get another word out, Elena was out of her range of sight and to Damon within an instant grabbing his hand and pulling him to the dance floor where a song that Caroline hardly knew played as people danced really close to it. Great. Just what she needed to be alone in a room full of people she hardly knew. She guessed she better make the most of it.

Making her way to the counter where Elena had knocked a few cups off of mere moments ago, Caroline skimmed the limited amounts of drinking options over until eventually she settled on pouring herself a cup of jack and coke (A choice she had faintly remembered from the summer before) as she made her way to the dance floor squeezing her way past multiple couples until she found a corner to be comfortable in until Elena was done dancing. She knew that Elena had took her out to have a good time and to not think about the past two years, but for some strange reason being in the room surrounded by people had never made her feel more alone.

She swore that if she tipped her head back just right and downed that drink just right, she could remember those nights back down by the train tracks. If only it were that easy for her. If only those memories brought her more smiles than they did pain. She swore she could almost see them right there and then before a voice caught her attention momentarily distracting her from her deep thoughts.

A girl who looked no more than fifteen years old had taped her on the shoulder trying to catch her attention as she opened her mouth ready to tell Caroline something through the crowded and noisy room. At first her words were swallowed by the crowd making her seem frustrated when Caroline gave her a puzzled look indicating to her that she had not heard a thing. The girl stepped closer closing the space between them as Caroline held her cup closer to her chest. She had always been paranoid with people by her cup no matter who they were. It also didn't help that she didn't know this person.

"Are you Caroline Forbes?" The girl asked making Caroline narrow her eyes in surprise and confusion. Not many people knew her name. Most people never bothered.

"Yeah. Why? Do you need something from me?"

The girl looked around seeming surprised that she phrased a question like that before settling on the words that she wanted to use.

"Well kind of. I don't really know you, but I do know you're Lexi's sister and you were the first one I knew that I bumped into that could help-"

Panic shot through Caroline making her chest feel tight as she tried to calm herself down. It was noisy in here. Almost too noisy. She had to concentrate though. What the hell was wrong with Lexi? Why the hell was she here in the first place?

"Lexi? Why is she here? She's barely even fourteen years old!" Caroline shouted over the music causing a few people who were standing by them to turn to see what the drama was about. Vultures.

The girl looked at her in surprise but continued as if her reaction was totally normal.

" I tried to convince her that this party was bad to come to begin with, but she insisted on coming because Lee invited her and she totally digs him, if you know what I mean, so I told her we could come because I just got my permit and we were chilling with Lee until I went to go to the bathroom and they were gone. I know I'm probably over reacting right now and it's her life to ruin, but I think that she's doing this for all the wrong reasons. And I- I just don't want anything horrible to happen to her anymore. She's already been through so much and you're the only one I could think of that's been through just as much as she has. So, will you help me find her? Please."

Caroline took a couple of deep breaths to calm her racing heart as she tried to think logically. She knew rationally that whatever Lexi had decided to do was her choice and her choice only, but then she thought about her baby sister going through exactly what she had been going through and knew that she didn't want her to feel the same way that she had felt. So, she took one more deep breath before speaking to the girl once again trying to convince herself that what she was doing was the right thing.

"What's your name?"

"April." she answered.

"Okay. I'll help you, but it's up to you to get Lexi home and safe when we get her alright. I came here with my friend and she's my ride so I can't really take you guys home."

Like parties, Caroline did not do cars. The girl nodded her understanding as they searched all the rooms for Lexi until they had finally found her in one with a bunch of couches where random people were making out. Lexi was straddling a guy who Caroline assumed was Lee as Caroline made her way to them putting both arms to her waist and trying to make herself look more intimidating when Lexi herself knew how much she could crumple like paper at any given moment. Clearing her throat, Lexi and Lee sprung apart while Lexi got up and narrowed her eyes at Caroline before focusing back on April. What was up with that anyway? It wasn't as if she had interrupted them.

"Really April? You can't find us for what all of fifteen minutes and you run scared to my sister of all people. Do you not know how much trouble I'll be in with my mother if my sister tattles on me like she always does?"

April's eyes fell to the floor almost ashamed that she had over reacted as Caroline rolled her eyes. Caroline wasn't brave with most people, but her sister was always that one exception. Especially when she was acting like a bitch to someone who cared about her.

"I won't have to tattle on you when you step foot through that door and you're drunk as a skunk Alexia. And what the hell are you even doing here? Huh? This is a frat party. How the hell did you even get invited in the first place?"

"Unlike you Caroline, I try to maintain my social life. Lee here invited me, and I really couldn't find a reason to say no. I think the real question you should be asking is why the hell you're here. You hate parties and fitting in, so why the hell are you here and ruining everyone else's fun?"

"Really Lexi you call getting drunk and fucking random guys fun? You can get yourself really hurt doing things like this?"

"Like you're one to talk, or should we recap for the audience what you've been through the past couple of years because you refused to cope with dad's death like mom wanted us to. At least I'm doing this for me and not because I feel like it's the only way for me to cope. So why don't you stop being a selfish bitch for once and just let me have fun."

Fury ran through Caroline's bones as Lexi turned back towards Lee ready to pick up where they had left off thinking that she had won this round as something took over Caroline causing her to grab a hold of her sister by her hair and dragging her up, so she would be facing her. Lexi let out a yelp digging her nails into Caroline's arm as Caroline let go getting close enough to Lexi, so she would feel the warmth of her breath.

Before she could process what, she was fully doing, Lexi raised her hand to meet Caroline's as Caroline's fist met Lexi's face sending her into April's arms as she looked back at Caroline with shock. They had attracted quite a few on lookers by now, but Caroline didn't care. She had deserved that when she had brought their dad into it.

"Take her scrawny ass home before she gets her ass kicked." She said to April who only nodded in response taking a very pissed off Lexi out of the room claiming that she could take her if she wanted to and to just wait until she told their mother about this.

Caroline rolled her eyes waiting until Lexi and April had left to turn to Lee. She wasn't done with this not by a long shot.

"What the hell was that about? You ruined all the fun."

Scoffing Caroline swiped the vodka bottle that was out of his hand tossing her half full rum and coke cup at him before she answered him trying to look as menacing as possible.

"No what I ruined was my mother's abilities to press charges on your sorry ass for statutory rape, you fucking dumb ass, so unless you want my mother, a fine member of law enforcement I may add, to find you I suggest you find another more suitable female to stick your dick in. Good luck by the way. Most girls aren't turned on by guys who try to screw a fourteen-year-old."

"Whatever. Your sister isn't shit anyway and not nearly worth the trouble no matter how many of my friends claim she's great with that mouth of hers."

"What did you just say?"

"Oh, darling if only you knew just how popular Lexi really was. How did you think she got so up there? I don't think there's a single guy in her grade that she hasn't blown. Just go ahead and ask around. I'm sure you'll find the answers you're looking for."

"I suggest you shut the fuck up before I make you."

Lee shrugged moving off the couch and ramming into her before leaving the room all together. Whatever. She needed to find Elena and get out of this party before she lost it altogether.

When she had finally managed to find Elena, she was sitting down on the sofa next to both Damon and Kai (Looks like all that had been between them was now solved) as they look turns sharing jokes and laughing their asses off at whatever they could think of. Caroline blew a stray bang from her face as she made her way across the room with her newly acquired bottle of vodka as she plopped onto the couch next to Damon where the laughter had seized to exist. Jesus, Was she that much of a killjoy?

"Hey, Caroline. What's wrong?" Damon asked trying to look everywhere besides her.

"What's up is that everyone at your party is a fucking jack hole." She told Damon as he tried to contemplate this

She did her best to ignore him as she turned her attention to Elena who seemed rather passive aggressive at this point in time. Perfect. That was just the mood she wanted her to be in.

"Alright Elena, I tried, can we go home now?"

Elena sighed trying hard to resist the urge to roll her eyes but answered in as nice of a way as she possibly could.

"Look Damon and I were having a rather important conversation so if you could keep yourself busy for maybe forty-five minutes than we could go. Okay? I just don't really want to leave yet. "

"Whatever. I'll be by the car when you're done."

"I really don't appreciate your tone Caroline. You know you should really be appreciative that I drive you around everywhere seeing as you're too useless to do it yourself."

Caroline flinched at the tone of Elena's voice and the way she had said her words. Did she really think that Caroline was a piece of shit that she could walk all over whenever she wanted to? No way in hell would Caroline allow herself to be treated like this for a single second longer.

"Like I really like waiting until your done sucking dick to go home. Come on Elena, can't you just do what I want to do for a change?"

When the words were finally out, Caroline immediately wished she could have taken them back. Of course, she always wanted to stand her ground with Elena, but she could have done it another way. Why the hell had she said that to begin with. Was she really that stupid?

"Elena, I-I-"

Before Caroline could apologize, Elena raised her hand up to silence causing her words to falter as she stood up, so she was face to face with Caroline. Caroline's breath caught as her heart started racing. Dammit. She knew she shouldn't have said something.

"First of all, I would shut that mouth of yours before I bust it for what you just said to me and second of all I would find another way to get home tonight seeing as how you're no longer getting a ride from me."

"Elena-"

"Go. Now. Before you give me more of a reason to kick your ass."

Caroline gulped turning to head towards the door as thoughts raced through her mind. She had just basically screwed herself by talking down to Elena and now that Elena was pissed at her she had no one to really talk to. Congratulations Caroline, You're truly a fucking asshole.

Darkness crossed at the edge of her vision as her breath came in faster making her way through the woods that she had come to know well. Her therapist had always said that whenever her mind got this way, she could either talk a walk or go to a place that gave her calming thoughts. Since talking a walk obviously wouldn't help in this situation, Caroline had opted on going to one place where she herself had some pretty happy memories while she sat down and thought of how she could possibly get back home without having to call her mother. She guessed that she could always walk home if she ran out of options, but she would rather it had not come to that if she could help it.

After a five-minute walk into the forest, Caroline finally made her way to the train tracks where her and Elena would go to just escape the world. It had become a stable environment for Caroline ever since Elena had showed it to her a couple of weeks after her dad had died. When Caroline's behavior and recklessness was at it's all time worst. They would come up there with a bottle of liquor they would steal from Caroline's house and a few cigarettes that Elena would pawn off her sister and just sit there and talk for hours. It was some of the best and the worst times of Caroline's life. And she owed those all to Elena. No matter how much of a bitch she was to her sometimes, sometimes she did have a soft side to her.

Sighing, she unscrewed the top of the bottle cap and put her mouth to it guzzling down as much vodka as she could without up chucking the harsh liquid burned her throat as she coughed a couple of times before continuing to drink. Maybe if she drank more alcohol it would calm her nerves and teach her how to really have fun occasionally. Maybe everyone would take her seriously then.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice said from the forest causing her to be rather jumpy

Caroline squinted trying to find the person who spoke through the darkness of the forest but couldn't make them find anyone. Dammit. She better not have been imagining this.

"Who's there?" she asked hoping someone would answer her back.

A figure stepped out of the shadows to where the moonlight bathed his face causing Caroline to get a good look at the stranger for the first time. If Caroline had saw this guy anywhere else except in the middle of the forest she would have thought he was really cute instead of a possible serial killer. Why else would he be out in the woods in the middle of the night?

Noticing the hesitation and worry on her face, the mysterious man held up his hands in a surrendering gesture and continued.

"I didn't mean to startle you. I was taking a walk from the frat house to clear my head for a minute when I came across you and you seemed...troubled. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Well as you can see, I'm just peachy so you can go ahead and head back to the house now."

"If you're so okay then why are you out here all by yourself?"

Irritated Caroline shuffled her feet in the gravel hoping that if she didn't answer for a while, he would get impatient like most guys did with her and leave her the fuck alone like they all eventually did. Unfortunately for her this guy didn't seem to be going away as he sat by her searching in his coat pockets until he found what he was looking for and pulled out a package of cigarettes taking one for himself before offering her one. She shook her head know as he lit his up causing the smell of smoke to drift between the two of them.

"Bad habit?" she asked pointing to the package of cigarettes. She figured if he wasn't going to leave anytime soon, she at least should do what Elena had asked of her and be social for once. Even if it was with some random person who she knew nothing about and had never seen around. Then again Mystic Falls was a big town, he could have been a native and she would have never noticed him until now.

"One of many." he answered with a smile as he gestured to her bottle of vodka. "What about you? Any bad habits that a stranger should be made aware of?"

"Well I don't know if you can tell but I love grabbing bottles of vodka after punching people out at parties before exiting to the solidarity of the train tracks so I can meet strangers who may or may not be serial killers."

"Haha. I guess I'll give you that one. But for your information, I'm not a serial killer unless I have a split personality who overtakes me when I don't know it and kills people."

Caroline wasn't sure why she gave him at least a chuckle for that, but despite her foul mood earlier she had to admit talking to this mystery guy was making her night a little bit more bearable then when it had originally started.

"Well obviously you're a funny guy when I'm toasted off my ass so since I'll probably never see you again after this. What is the name of this mysterious stranger I've been talking to."

"The name's Klaus. And yours?"

"Caroline." she said taking a sip of her bottle. The burning in her throat seeming like just a nuisance now.

"So, I take it one of your parents was a Neil Diamond fan?"

"Actually no, My parents just liked the name Caroline so that's what I got stuck with."

"I'm sorry that must be very annoying for you at times. I couldn't imagine what you go through sometimes."

"Well with a name like Klaus I couldn't imagine you could know how that feels, but it's not as bad as you may think. Sometimes it's even comforting."

"How so?"

Caroline bit her lip searching Klaus's face for any tattle tale of mistrust for him. That was the worst part of people you never knew if you could trust them or not.

Noticing her silence, Klaus coughed taking another drag of his cigarette before stumping it out. Now that she caught a couple of glimpses of him in the moonlight, she had to admit he really was beautiful. A guy that most girls (Elena included) would have swooned over.

His curly blonde hair rested at his ears as the flashes of smile that she had seen previously in these conversations revealed that Klaus had dimples. And when she looked at him those dimples would light up the blue-green of his eyes that made hers pale in comparison even though multiple arguments had told her that everyone had loved her eyes. No matter how much she thought she thought it made her like everyone else she had seen before. Elena would always tell her to shut up about her whining about her eyes because she always thought her hair was the prettiest shade of blonde she had ever seen, but Caroline hadn't argued with her about it no matter how much she may have wanted to. She just would always chalk it up to the fact that everyone hated at least one thing about themselves and left it at that. She wondered if Klaus had that one insecurity. She wondered if she would ever get to ask.

"You know you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I would never want someone to tell me something that would make them feel uncomfortable."

"No. It's okay. I-I just have trouble opening up to a lot of people sometimes. You know?"

"No, I get it. Like I said I wouldn't want you to tell me anything you didn't want to tell me, but I would be honored if you ever did."

"Thanks for that. I really do appreciate it."

"Tell you what. Since trust is a problem for most people, let's make a compromise."

"What did you have in mind?"

"How about we get to know each other a little bit better. I'll tell you one of my big secrets if you tell me one of yours."

"Alright that seems fair, but what if my secret isn't as big as yours is going to be?"

"Well then how about I go first and then you could decide what secret you find worthy of sharing."

"Sounds like a good idea."

"Alright. I'll start with two icebreakers that anyone could know about me and then I'll expose my big secret."

"Need a little liquid courage?" she asked shaking the bottle.

"I probably shouldn't, but thanks for offering."

"No problem."

Klaus smiled at her as he took a breath getting ready to be open with her.

"Okay my name is Klaus Mikaleson. I'm eighteen years old and I have six siblings who moved with me here from Louisiana. And a thing that not many people know about me is that I have a two-year-old daughter who I love more than life itself."

"Your joking, right?" she asked getting taken aback.

She knew that teen pregnancy happened all the time and she even had even met a few of Elena's friends who had had kids, but she never thought she would meet one on her own. Much less be exposing a trade secret to one.

He smiled exposing those dimples to her as he reached back into his coat pocket and produced his wallet pulling something out and handing it to her. She looked down and saw a picture of a girl who could be no more than two years of age smiling back at her. The girl had auburn hair and blue eyes with a few teeth that she had probably developed over time. She had to admit that she was adorable.

"She is pretty adorable. Do you take care of her by yourself?"

"My family helps most days, but overall it's just me and Hope."

"What about her mom?"

"She's not really in the picture at the moment."

"What happened to her?"

"I don't really think I'm ready to get all into that just yet if you don't mind."

"Perfectly understandable. I'm sorry if I pushed."

"We're all human. Trust me when I say it's okay."

"Well if it's any conception I'm glad that you're taking care of your daughter."

"I am too. I really don't understand how any parent can leave their child. I couldn't imagine my life without her."

Caroline smiled feeling the warmth flood to her cheeks. How the hell did this guy get more attractive to her in just a matter of minutes?

"So, what about you mystery girl? What's your secret?"

Taking a sip of her liquid courage, Caroline decided on what to tell him and sat down on the ground pulling at the grass that was there.

"I pretend that everything in my life is okay, but the truth is I've been miserable ever since my dad died two years ago."

"I'm sorry for your loss. Losing someone, especially a parent is never easy."

Caroline nodded not sure what to say as she took another drink of the bottle.

"So, what brought you out here? I thought you'd be over there enjoying the party like the rest of our peers."

"I'm not really one for parties."

"Then why did you come? If I may ask."

"I actually came here with my best friend."

"How did you end up over here?"

"I pissed her off and I came here to avoid the drama and try to find out how to get home now."

"She just left you at this party by yourself?"

"Actually, she's still in there. I just pissed her off so much that she told me to find my own way home."

"How did you manage that?"

"I may have implied that she was just here to suck some guys dick and then she got mad."

"Oh. Tough break. Do you still need a ride home?"

"Are you offering?"

"I would hate to leave a pretty girl like yourself out here to hang on the train tracks until morning. So what do you say? Can I take you home?"

"Are you sure you're not a serial killer?"

"Promise."

"I guess I have nothing to lose."

"Shall we?"

Caroline smiled and followed Klaus to his car hoping that she would be safe when she was with him.

"It's the second house on the left." Caroline indicated as Klaus turned into her driveway happy that she finally was safe at home.

"Thank you for the ride. I really do appreciate it."

"Well I couldn't leave you out in the forest like that. I have to be an example for my daughter and I can't be if I leave people in shitty situations. I've done it before and I'll never do it again."

"Whatever the reason I'm glad that I met you tonight. "

"I hope that we can meet again. You seem like the type of girl I can get used to seeing every day."

"Same. I guess I better get inside now."

"Caroline-"

"Yes?"

Before she could even tell what was happening, his lips were on hers giving her one gentle kiss that only seemed to last a second before he pulled away leaving her stunned.

"Don't let them take your light away. You're more important to people than you give yourself credit for."

"Thanks for the ride." She said as she hurried out of the car and into her house wondering what the hell she had just gotten herself into.


	2. Chapter 2

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 2

Smoke filled her lungs as she grasped her too hot for comfort sheets. Her breath came in short panicked gasps as she coughed into the palm of her hands smelling something foul beyond her bedroom door. As she woke up with a start, something was right here. Caroline grabbed her prescription glasses off her bedside table as the reality of her situation finally set in.

Orange flames licked the sides of her door frame as Caroline threw off her covers in a panic. Fire, her thoughts interrupted as screams from her parents and her younger siblings sounded from below. Caroline tried to remember all of what her school had taught her about fire safety as she raced to her window on the second floor of their house and opened it letting the smoke that had found its way into her room out with a breeze from the wind helping her. Fresh air filled her lungs as she tried to assess the best way out of her current situation. She knew without a doubt that if she stayed in that house, she would burn alongside it and that is not the kind of end that she wanted to meet.

Without taking a second to think about the outcome if she went out this way, Caroline grabbed onto the tree branch that always seemed to scratch her window at night and started to climb it, not caring if the wood splinted her hands as she made her way down. She gritted her teeth as she made her way down to the ground and fell onto a hard patch of the earth scrapping her knees on the jagged rocks below as something sharp cut into the side of her stomach causing a seething pain there. She inhaled sharply reminding herself that she wasn't done quite yet before she set off in a run to the nearest neighbor's house just like what her school taught her to do when she didn't have a phone nearby.

Her fist pounded against the door in rapid succession as her neighbor opened it narrowing their eyes slightly at the interruption of their sleep until their gaze landed on the fire across the street.

"Wait here. I'll call 911."

Tears streamed Caroline's face while her neighbor rushed back into her house to call the fire department. It had taken them approximately ten minutes to get to there while she clung to her neighbors' side scared that when they were finished, she would have no family or home left.

"Caroline!" A voice screamed from the front yard as she peaked up from her neighbors' side to see her mother racing towards her.

Caroline caught the odor of charred clothing flowing through her nostrils as her mother squeezed her tight agitating whatever had happened to her stomach in the process of escaping the house. She took a second to look down at where she had cut herself and almost passed out immediately at the amount of blood that had accumulated on her shirt. Her mother's face turned pale white peeling her shirt upwards to inspect the wound closely. Caroline had to admit that it looked bad as her mother took her to the ambulance so they both could get checked out.

It had taken them about ten minutes to look both of them over as her mother asked them question about if they had located her youngest and her husband trying to hide her concern so that she wouldn't understand how upset she really was. Unfortunately for her mother Caroline could see right through her. She knew that her mother was relieved that she was okay, but she knew that her father and sister were more important than her at that moment. She just hoped that they both would be okay

Caroline winced as the paramedic did her stitches to close the gash that had formed on her stomach.

"How old are you sweetie?" The paramedic asked putting peroxide on her wounds.

"Fifteen." she answered looking at the flames that were now devouring her house as her mother continued to talk to the police and their neighbor.

"So that would mean you're now in high school. It must be a pretty exciting time for you."

"It's alright, I guess. School has never really been that special for me."

"And why is that?"

Caroline bit her lip, avoiding the question at hand as she stared up into the night sky. She really didn't feel like telling a complete stranger the reason why she didn't like school. Aside from her best friend Elena, she really didn't have anyone else in her corner.

"We got one!" A voice said from the house as Caroline picked up her head to see who it was.

The small frame of her twelve-year-old sister came into Caroline's view as they placed her on a stretcher next to Caroline grabbing an oxygen mask and placing it over her mouth.

"Alexia!" Her mother shouted making her way to the ambulance as she spoke with the paramedics.

"How is she?" her mother asked making eye contact with the paramedic like she usually liked to. Caroline hated eye contact with a fiery passion it always made communicating with another person more complicated.

"We have her on oxygen right now, but it is possible that she developed carbon monoxide poisoning while she was trapped in the house. It's too soon to tell for sure. I'm sorry I can't tell you more"

The paramedic finished Caroline's last stitch as she smiled at Caroline as a sign of encouragement. A sign that it would all be alright in the end. Little did she know at that moment that it would never be okay again.

"You're all done sweetie. Now remember that it's important that you don't tear your stitches out or else I'll have to do them again. And they should give you some antibiotics and pain medication to make sure you don't get an infection."

Caroline nodded trying to hide her annoyance that this woman was talking to her as if she were ten years old and got off of the gurney walking towards her now burning house to try and stretch her legs out. The house creaked and moaned as Caroline wrapped her arms around herself watching the house, she had grown up in burn down to the ground along with every childhood memory she had made in that house.

A feeling of deep regret and sadness washed over Caroline as she took in the fact that she would never make another memory in this house. She would never wake up again in that house to have breakfast with their family. She would never see her mother walk back into that door after a long shift only to join her and the rest of the family for a nice night in. She would never get to celebrate another birthday or have another fight with Lexi over something that wasn't worth it at the time. And what was worse was that she would never get to come home from a long night of hanging out with Elena to come inside to see her dad and mom cuddling up by the piano while her father sung one of his favorite songs to her mother and that's when something finally snapped in Caroline. Oh God how could she possibly have forgotten about her dad?

Looking around the front yard that was now surrounded by ambulances, firefighters, Policemen, and a curious crowd who had wandered there to see what the hell was going on Caroline looked at the blur of unfamiliar faces for one she had been staring into for the past fifteen years of her life only to find out that he was not here. Panic settled deep into her chest as Caroline ran back towards the house with only one goal in mind.

"Dad!" She yelled running past everyone who tried to stop her as her mother followed closely in her footsteps trying to stop her from running back into the house after her father.

"Caroline!" Her mother yelled as the house exploded from the inside causing Caroline to get thrown backwards as glass washed over her body and knocked her into her mother sending them both down to the ground.

Caroline groaned out in pain as she tried to sit up after the initial shock of getting thrown wore off. Her jaw dropped slightly as she brought her hand to her mouth to cover it trying to stop her tears from falling. Gone. Everything was gone.

"Oh my God, Caroline. Are you alright? Are you hurt? What the hell were you thinking trying to go back in there. What the hell could be so important that you would risk your life for it?"

"Dad." was all she whispered as her mother took a minute to registrar as tears rolled down her cheeks, pulling Caroline to her as they mourned their loss both knowing that their life would never be the same again.

With an automatic gasp, Caroline awoke with sweat dripping down her body as she looked around her room to where sunlight now streamed in her windows signaling that it was now a new day and she was back in her new house safe and sound in her new bed while the scent of bacon and eggs wafted through the house meaning her mother was downstairs attempting to make breakfast. Great. That was just what she needed to deal with first thing in the morning on her first day of senior year.

Tears streamed down Caroline's face as she pushed herself off the bed and ran her hands through her hair frowning slightly that it felt as if it were some rat's nest. She knew she had to get ready for the first day even though she was dreading it completely. With a frustrated sigh, Caroline pushed herself off of her bed and walked to her closet trying to figure out what the hell she wanted to wear today taking her time to avoid the inevitable confrontation that she would have with her mom when she got downstairs.

If Caroline thought of herself as a normal teenager than maybe this morning would have gone a little bit more differently for her. Maybe if she was what she considered normal then she would wake up on her first day of senior year excited to see all of her friends for the first time all summer and they would tell her all about their exciting summers while they walked to class in sync ready to conquer the school year and end it with a bang. After all the first day of senior year should be exciting for everyone. Unfortunately for her that wasn't the case though as thoughts of the previous night came flooding through her mind making her wonder if Elena was still furious at her for what had occurred that night. She would really hate having to spend the first day of senior year without her.

With that thought in her head, Caroline scanned her closet with the idea that she couldn't look like a complete slob, but she couldn't look hotter than Elena either for fear that she would be even more pissed at her when she got there. It was one thing to irritate Elena with concern but outshining her in any aspect was always a big no when it came to the requirements of being her best friend.

In the end, the outfit that she had decided to throw on was one of her favorites that she thought she looked good in even though most times she didn't really have a lot of self confidence in herself. The outfit she had chosen for herself that day was a really cute ensemble that consisted of a light pink spaghetti strap top with a black and pink floral skirt, a light blue jean jacket, and some pink high heels even though she would have much preferred to wear her converse more than anything. She had to be impressive today though after all if she was really lucky this would be the only time, she would have to go through her first day of senior year.

Sighing, she took a look at herself in the full length mirror thinking she should really curl her hair and throw on some makeup so she could impress Elena even more with her effort as she made her way to the bathroom where she opened the door to the most horrific sight that she could see in this early in the morning.

Her sister, Lexi, was on the counter with her legs wrapped around a guy who Caroline had never seen before. Caroline's face twisted in a deep frown as her sister's tongue jammed down the guys throat kissing him in the way that Caroline had been too afraid to kiss guys like before. Lexi made it look so easy. She made everything look easy which bother Caroline quite a bit as she cleared her throat to pronounce her arrival to her sister.

The boy and Lexi sprang apart as Lexi jumped off the counter with a look of utter horror and frustration on her face. Obviously, Caroline had interrupted something very important to get that reaction out of her.

"Ugh, sorry to interrupt, but I need the bathroom to get ready for school, but if you need it, I can just go to school looking like a homeless person."

The guy exchanged looks with Lexi as he gave her a kiss on the forehead to calm her down.

"I'm going to head out and give you the chance to get ready for school. I'll see you later baby." The guy said giving her sister a small peck on the lips which Caroline had to advert her eyes for. She really did hate public displays of affection. It made things even more awkward than they already were.

"Later." she said as he left leaving Caroline and Lexi alone to hash it out.

"Do you ever knock?" Her sister asked agitated that Caroline had interrupted her alone time.

"Yeah. I just didn't think it was required when I was in my own house."

"Whatever smart ass. I got to get ready for school, do me a favor and don't tell mom about this."

"My lips are sealed." she said as her sister passed her and slammed the door to her room shut leaving Caroline with the bathroom all to herself.

When Caroline was done with her hair and makeup, she assessed herself in the bathroom mirror catching herself thinking about how different her and Lexi really were. While Caroline's style was more comfortable girly girl, Lexi was more for the edgy styles that Caroline would never even dare to try by herself unless someone had forced her to. Lexi was also the more social one who competed in more than a few sports and had more friends than Caroline had books in her room, but most of all they looked totally and completely different from each other except for the color of their hair making them look more like distant relatives then sisters

Caroline sighed as Lexi opened the door to her room coming out in her usual edgy style as Caroline looked at her revealing outfit up and down until she formed the words, she wanted to say out loud.

"Are you sure you want to go to school looking like that? Mom might throw a fit."

"That's what I'm hoping for. I'll see you later."

"Wait. You're not going to eat breakfast with me and mom."

"And watch her chew your ass out for Saturday night. I'll pass. See you after school." she said bypassing Caroline as she gulped dreading the talk she would have with her mom when she got downstairs.

She took one last look at herself in the mirror finding herself passable as she walked downstairs to where her mother was setting out three plates for herself, Caroline, and Lexi hoping that she could have a nice family breakfast before she went to work.

"Good morning." she said as she sat down at the table hoping that her mother wouldn't come down on her too hard.

"Where's your sister?" she asked not bothering to say good morning back.

"She left already. I think she said something about having an early morning practice that she had to get to. She sends her regard though."

Her mother nodded as she sat down in the chair across from Caroline folding her hands together like she usually did when she had to talk about something.

"What's up?" she asked acting more oblivious than she was.

"We need to talk."

"What about?" Caroline asked playing stupid like she usually did with her mother when she was in deep shit.

"Don't play dumb with me little Missy I already know what happened with you and Elena Saturday morning, so don't try the innocent act I raised you better than to lie to me."

"Sorry mom, but how did you know I was lying?"

"Well for one, I'm your mother so I've picked up on your habits that occur when you lie to me. Such as when you lie your nose tends to wrinkle a little bit and your pupils dilate slightly, but even if you were a great liar, I would have figured it out anyway seeing as how a lot of things don't get passed police officers in this town. You see when I was on duty Saturday night it just so happened that I pulled over your friend Elena who was heavily intoxicated and driving at the time. She wasn't too thrilled to see me as you could imagine but imagine my shock when I look over to her passenger's side seat and see that you're not with her at that point. Now I have a couple of questions and I want you to answer them honestly, do you hear me?"

"Yes Ma'am." Caroline answered sitting up straighter like her mother expected her to during times like this.

"Were you also drinking last night?"

Caroline tried to keep her racing heart steady as she answered her mother feeling as if her mother were giving her the third degree just because she could.

"No Ma'am, I didn't touch a single drop of alcohol and in all honesty, I tried to stop Elena from driving drunk and potentially harming herself, but all she did was drive off without me, so I had no choice, but to find a ride from another person." Caroline answered hoping that her little white lie about not drinking alcohol would be overshadowed but the fact that she was mostly being honest.

"And who exactly took you home?" her mother asked causing her to dread the answer she had at hand.

"Don't get mad, but his name is Klaus and all I know about him is that he's new to town. I'm sorry that I tried to hide it from you, but I really didn't see any other option besides him giving me a ride home. You were on duty after all and I know how much you hate it when me and Lexi disturb you during work."

"Don't you dare try to turn this around on me little Missy, you know better than to accept a ride from strangers no matter how gorgeous they are. For all you know you could have been hurt by this Klaus fellow."

"I know mom. I really am sorry, and I promise it won't happen again."

"It better not. We don't need a repeat of what happened three years ago. I don't think my heart could handle that and neither can yours."

Caroline's gut twisted as she took a bite of her bacon trying to avoid the subject of what had occurred with her after her father's passing. It was something she had hoped to forget about by now, but unfortunately for her memory was a bit of a bitch like that.

"I know mom, I promise I'll think things through next time."

"You better get going before your late to school, but don't forget to take your medication before you leave."

Caroline's eyes trailed over to where her medicine sat on the kitchen counter and frowned walking towards it. She took one of her pills out of the pill bottle and waited until her mother had her back turned to pocket it taking a drink of her water, so it looked as if she had taken her pill. She hated faking it with her mother, but she also hated how the pills made her feel numb and she didn't want to feel that. At least not today.

"I'll see you later." she said giving her mom a kiss on the cheek and going out the door before she suspected anything.

Thankfully it was a nice day out when Caroline plugged her headphones into her ears and started the short descent to her school. Most teenagers she knew preferred driving to school or at least bumming a ride from their parents, but not Caroline. She loved how the walk and the music cleared her head and relaxed her. After all it was either this or have her mother drive her to school and Caroline didn't feel like getting the third degree from her and even if her mother didn't do that with her, she still wouldn't bother her mom. After Caroline was diagnosed with anxiety disorder after her third panic attack, her mother had tried to make it all about Caroline after that. Even going as far as to pay for a therapist for Caroline so she would have someone to talk to when she wasn't there. Most days Caroline felt as if she didn't appreciate her mother enough and the only way she felt as if she could pay her mom back was to not be as big of a burden than she needed to be. It was the least that she could do after everything that had happened especially recently.

Sighing she immersed herself in her music bopping her head to the beat as she walked to school dreading what would be waiting for her when she got there.

When she had finally managed to arrive at school, she took a deep long breath pulling her headphones out of her ears as an uneasy settled through her stomach. She didn't know when coming here would ever be okay again, but she knew she had to go in there today even if she did end up running into him, because no matter how much she wanted to avoid him, she knew that she couldn't do it forever.

Taking a couple more deep calming breaths like her therapist had shown her how to do, Caroline made her way up the stairs thinking that she had to find Elena at some point in the day to apologize for the way that she had acted at the party even if it meant she had to beg and gravel for Elena to forgive her. After all, Caroline didn't want to lose her only friend she seemed to have there.

Eventually after a couple of classes had passed, Caroline had found Elena at her locker and approached her hoping that she would be forgiving and not too harsh with Caroline as she took a deep breath preparing for the worst.

"Hey Elena. Can we talk?"

Elena sighed turning towards her as her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Fine, but you better make it quick. I really don't feel like putting up with your unstable ass for an overwhelming amount of time today."

Caroline flinched slightly feeling a brief flash of hurt before continuing.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about last night. Did you at least make it home okay?"

"Seriously? After your mom pulled me over for drunk driving, she made a show of pulling me out of my car and driving me home herself just to make sure I didn't cause an accident on her watch. She even had the nerve to wake up my parents even though she knew I had my keys on me and preceded to tell them everything. Do you know how much trouble I got into? My parents basically grounded me for a whole entire month, because your mom couldn't mind her own fucking business for a change. Also, don't forget that I'm also still pissed at you for making a scene at the party last night. I mean can't you just control yourself for one fucking night, so I can have some real fun every once in a while? Why do you have to be such a fucking buzz kill?"

"Look I'm sorry about everything that happened the other night. I promise I really didn't mean to ruin your fun and I surely didn't mean to embarrass you. Is there anything that I can do to make it up to you? I swear I'll do anything."

A chilling smile crossed Elena's lips sending a shiver down Caroline's spine. Great. Caroline knew that smile a little too well. It was a smile that Elena only had when she was up to something. She wondered what the hell her punishment was going to be this time. All she knew was that it would probably be the worst one yet.

Before she opened up her mouth to continue, Elena turned towards her locker and rummaged through it before pulling out a piece of paper and shoving it into Caroline's hand.

"What's this?"

"That, my dear friend, is an audition poster for the next school musical that I'll be auditioning for the part of Mimi."

"So-"

"So, to make it up to me for fucking up on Saturday, you'll be auditioning with me or I swear I'll drop you faster than I picked your ass up. Do you understand me? I mean when you think about it it's the least you could do."

Caroline bit on her lip wanting nothing more than to explain to Elena that she owed her nothing for trying to help her out. Elena wouldn't have been grounded in the first place if she had listened to Caroline and had called her sister in the first place, but she knew very well that she couldn't tell Elena any of that. Not if she didn't want to spend senior year eating lunch in the library.

"What's the play?"

"Believe it or not, it's a musical this year which you know I'm so pumped for because I have pipes and I know I can score a lead role. I'm just surprised that the school board approved Mrs. Tamlyn's idea to do Rent this year. I mean for as long as I could remember I've always wanted to play Mimi and who knows maybe if you audition you could get a small role or work as a stage hand. Wouldn't this experience just be so much fun for the both of us?"

"When are the auditions?" She asked solemnly.

"I'm glad you asked. The auditions are set for after school and you'll have to have a song prepared to sing as well as a monologue to perform in front of everyone. Hopefully it's not too much for you. I would hate for you to miss out on a great thing because you talked yourself out of it."

"I'll be there."

"Great. I'll see you then."

"What about lunch?"

"Like I said I don't really feel like putting up with your bullshit today, so do me a favor and find someone else to sit with. See you at the audition." she said with a smile leaving Caroline alone to wonder what the hell she was going to do next.

When lunch rolled around, Caroline took a deep breath as she stared at the cafeteria doors debating whether or not she should just go to the library instead. After all Ms. Saltzman always loved having her there to keep her company in the afternoons and she wouldn't treat her like a nuisance like everyone else seemed to lately. But on the other side of that if she didn't at least attempt to go in the cafeteria than she would actually be admitting to Elena that she couldn't survive high school without her and she didn't want to seem that pathetic

Taking a deep breath, Caroline opened the lunchroom doors looking around the lunchroom where all her fellow classmates were eating at their respective tables as Caroline's eyes locked on the table where Elena was eating with the rest of her friends as her eyes landed on Caroline's and gave her an eye roll before continuing to talk to her better, more important friends.

Making her way to the lunch line, Caroline stopped dead in her tracks when her eyes landed on him. What the hell was he doing here?

It had been months since she had last saw Stefan Salvatore, but it had felt as if his betrayal had just happened yesterday. Memories of his words ran through her mind making her feel small and unwanted once more as she replayed the last time, she saw him over and over again in her head. Him. Her. Naked. Her watching from the shadows as she watched him wrapping himself in another. Her heart breaking more violently than all those other times before. Then what she had done to make sure he had never hurt her again. She didn't know what she would do next. All she knew was that she had to get out of there now before he saw her again.

Caroline's eyes met Elena's in a panicked gaze as Elena shook her head again warning Caroline that she was on her own with this one. As if she couldn't care less that the guy who had destroyed her life was standing mere inches away from her. Fuck it. She couldn't just stand here and wait for Elena to play her knight in shinning armor like she always did. She had to find a way to save herself and she had to do it fast.

In such a rush to get out of the cafeteria and go somewhere else, Caroline turned around so fast that she had not seen the guy behind her as she bumped into him spilling the contents of his food all over both of them as a couple of classmates who had bared witness to the scene laughed slightly before going back to their conversation. Great. Just what she needed. What was even more embarrassing was that she had known exactly who she had bumped into. Klaus.

Instead of yelling at her like most guys at their school would, he gently slipped his hand into hers as he led her out of the lunchroom and outside to the quad where multiple of their classmates usually ate lunch instead. She didn't expect him to take her out here, but she did appreciate the change of scenery if anything else.

After a few calming breaths, Caroline composed herself to see the mess she had made out of his shirt and grimaced slightly. She would have to find a way to pay him back for that shirt and saving her ass back there by giving her a great diversion to get out of there, but first she had to apologize for the way she had acted before.

"I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to run into you and ruin your shirt. Especially a nice one like that." She said noticing that he had picked out a nice red button up for todays occasions. Now she felt twice as bad.

"It's okay. Believe it or not I've had worse first days."

"I don't see how." She said fighting a smile.

"Well the first day of high school ever, Hope's mother had a little too much to drink the night before and when we were making out, she pulled away and barfed right on my shoes, so trust me when I say I've had worse days than a hot girl like you spilling food on me."

"I told you, I'm not that hot." She said trying to deflect the conversation away from his baby mama.

For some reason talking about his past relationship had somewhat bothered her even though they weren't together. But that kiss from last night still lingered in the back of her mind and she would rather be here in the moment with him right now then discuss their past. She didn't feel like sharing all her past quite yet and thought it would be better to leave some mystery between the two of them. At least for right now.

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit. You're way smarter and prettier than half these girls here."

"How could you possibly make that assumption? You haven't even been here a full day. You don't even know half of what this school offers."

"I think I know myself enough to know who I'm attracted to and you fit that mold. Now do you want to tell me what happened back there?"

"I'd rather not. It's kind of personal and despite our kiss yesterday, I don't actually know you that well."

"Fair enough. I'm sorry if I were intrusive. "

"Well I'm sorry that you had to see that back there."

"Why would you ever apologize for something you can't control?"

"I guess it's just habit."

"So, tell me the truth is there anything else that you're upset about?"

"This might sound silly, but I'm dreading going to an audition after school, because I pissed off my best friend Elena and this is my way to make it up to her."

"You know that you don't have to do anything you don't want to do right? If Elena doesn't see that then just tell her to fuck off."

"That wouldn't go over well with her. Trust me, you haven't met her yet."

"Well judging all that you've told me, I don't think I want to."

"No matter how much I may bitch about her every now and again, she's really not that bad. She has her good and bad days just like every other person at this school. I just happened to piss her off on a day where I probably shouldn't so-"

"Well it seems to me like she's not a really good friend."

"Well you don't know her or me, so please just say out of it."

An awkward silence passed through them as Caroline bit her lips frustrated at herself for saying the thing that she did. Of course, she would try to ruin whatever she had with Klaus right off the bat. God. She was so stupid. Why the hell had she talked to him like that anyway? She had never been so bold before. Why was she starting now?

"Point made. I promise I won't talk about you and Elena anymore if you don't want to. Now changing the subject, what ae you going to sing for the audition?"

"How did you know?"

"Because it just so happens that I'm auditioning too. My mother thinks I should get out more since all I really do is spend my time with Hope. Now tell me, what are you going to sing?"

"I really don't know. I feel like whatever I sing I'll flop hard on and embarrass myself with so I'm not sure what I could possibly sing to pull this off."

"Do you want my advice?"

Caroline gave him a look to continue as a glimmer of an emotion she hadn't seen in a while sparked in his eyes.

"Sing a song that you're passionate about, not a song that anyone else wants you to sing, because when you're out there singing your favorite song then it just feels as if you're having fun. Like you're commanding the whole room to look at you and how well you could hold those notes or memorize those words. As long as you could find a song like that. Then you should be all set."

"How will I ever find a song like that in a few hours?"

"You just have to open your heart and listen of course. "

"You make it sound so easy."

"In a way it is, but only if you allow it to be."

A bell chimed in the distance signaling the end of lunch period as Caroline sighed, she had been having a nice conversation with Klaus and she didn't want it to end.

"Damn. I really was getting into the conversation too, but I guess my free period awaits. "

"Wait you have a free period now too?"

"Well I am a senior, so I could choose whatever free period I want. Naturally it was after lunch."

"In that case, Can I show you something?"


	3. Chapter 3

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 3

Back when Caroline was a freshman and new to the high school, she had been looking for one of her new classes feeling more than a little bit lost when she opened the door to the library. Caroline remembered the sense of wonder she had when she opened the doors and set eyes on the library for the very first time. To most people the library just looked like a normal room, but to her there was something magical about it.

Now as a senior, Caroline took the library in with a new fresh pair of eyes as she opened the door to her personal haven and was immediately hit with the musky scent of old and new books. A smile crossed her face as her heels tapped on the hardwood floors making noise across the whole room. Her eyes wandered looking at all the books that she had read and not read, all of them hiding the hidden potential to be her favorites. The mural on the wall brought a full-fledged smile to her face as she looked at the intertwining trees that held children, teens, and adults alike in it and around it.

When Caroline looked at it her eyes always seemed to wonder on the two individuals down on bottom. A boy and a girl were sitting down at the bottom of the trunk looking not much older than herself as both held one book in one hand and held hands with the other. She loved the deeper meaning that surrounded this one that maybe just maybe books could bring two individuals who never thought about coexisting with each other together. It's why she loved it. Why she always looked at it in moments like these where her brain was over complicating things. This was her dream. This was her happy place. And now she was here with Klaus sharing it with him in hopes that she could find that connection with another person. Before Caroline could say anything to Klaus a shout came from the office as Caroline turned to meet it.

"Caroline Forbes! Is that you?"

Mrs. Salzman stood a few feet from her, smiling so big that it lit the features of her face right up. Caroline smiled in return. It had been a while since she had seen the librarian of this wonderful place and she couldn't help but admit that she missed her and the lunches that they shared together when Caroline was feeling down on herself.

"It sure is Mrs. Saltzman. How have you been?"

"Oh, you know, I can't complain. I've just been doing the upkeep with the library over the summer and spending some time with the kiddos even if they claim to be too old to need me some days."

After Mrs. Saltzman's first and only husband had died when she was twenty-eight years old, she had shut herself off from the real world completely only coming out of her house to go to church and to come to her job at the library. Everyone worried about her safety and wellbeing after her husband had passed especially when it came to taking care of her two twin girls by herself. But after a while of grief and not really dealing with her emotions the way people wanted her to, she had run into one of the teenagers who was staying at the school overnight. She had been up working late on one of her many overnight projects when she heard a rustling coming from the stacks.

After calming her racing hard for a little while, she had got up from her desk and went over to investigate the noise only to find a girl no more than the age of fourteen hiding there, a sleeping bag, a backpack, and a few snacks and beverages sitting beside her feet. Caroline remembered the librarian telling her how scared the girl had been. She had apologized to Mrs. Saltzman over and over telling her to please not call the cops and she would leave the library and find somewhere else to sleep that night if she really wanted her to. She just couldn't go home. At least not yet.

Mrs. Saltzman had looked at her levelly telling her to come with her to the office as she made tea for the both of them. She had handed the girl the cup as the girl had told Mrs. Saltzman her story. The girl had confined in Mrs. Saltzman that she had been too scared to go back home, because of her stepfather. Apparently, he had been a real piece of work who had sexually abused her when her mother was not around or asleep. She had been too scared to say anything to anyone, because she thought her mother wouldn't believe her if she had spoken up and said something, so she had chosen to take matters into her own hands and sleep anywhere except the confides of her own home. After she had finished the story with tears streaming down her face Mrs. Saltzman had taken her hand giving it a gentle squeeze and had told her that she never had to go back there and worry about that selfish asshole again.

It had taken time for her to do it, but now two years, Mrs. Saltzman had taken her first foster child into her home and for the first time since her husband died, she had felt as if her life was complete. It had always put a smile on Caroline's face when Mrs. Saltzman had talked about her kids and even now when Olivia came to see Josette in her office it always brought a smile to Caroline's face to make a little bit of conversation with her about how her and the twins were doing.

"How are Olivia, Josie, and Lizzie? I haven't heard about them in a while."

"Well April is off doing normal teenager stuff and Josie and lizzie just barely started pre-k, so I'm being an emotional mother now and trying not to cry that my babies are growing up on me."

"I guess they sometimes forget that you're growing up too. But any word on the program that you were trying to start. I remember you saying something last semester about needing volunteers to help out around here."

"Well that's actually what I brought you in here to talk about, but then I saw your friend here and realized that I'm being terribly rude because I haven't introduced myself yet. Hi. I'm Josette Saltzman. I'm the librarian at this fine establishment and you are?" she asked giving Klaus a friendly smile as she extended her hand in a way of greeting.

"Klaus Mikaleson. I just moved to the area." He said taking Mrs. Saltzman hand and giving it a firm shake.

"Oh, How exciting. Where from?"

"Louisiana. New Orleans to be specific."

"Oh, home of the French Quarter, Marti Gras, Bourbon Street, and music. I've always wanted to visit. Is it as beautiful as they say?"

"Even more so. Maybe I'll bring pictures in some day to show you." He said with a smile.

"That would be lovely. Thank you. So, what brings you to Mystic Falls?"

"A change of pace. There were a few things in New Orleans that my family and I wanted to get away from and I thought it would be best to move with my family, so I could give my daughter the best."

"You have a daughter?" Mrs. Saltzman asked her eyes wide with wonder.

"Yes ma'am." Klaus said with a smile on his face as if to show her that nothing could make him ever regret her. No matter how young her was. If only he knew what kind of women Josette Saltzman really was.

"How old is she?" Josette asked with a reassuring smile.

"She's two." He said pulling her picture out of his wallet and showing it to Mrs. Saltzman

"She's adorable. How are the terrible two's going?"

"I think I'm managing them quite well, but then again this is my first one, so I don't have much to compare it to."

"Well luckily for you I have two twin girls and I'm going through the same thing, so if you need any pointers, I'll be happy to give you my advice. I hear I'm quite the mother most days."

"I'll keep that in mind thank you."

"No problem, so Caroline, dear, I've called you in here to talk to you about my volunteer program that I'm starting for this period. I figured since you come in here anyway you would like to get credit for it. So, would you like to hear about it?"

"Sure."

"Excellent. Well it's simple really, all you have to do is check in and out books, return them to their shelves, and help whatever students need assistance. Do you think that would be something you'd be interested in. It doesn't pay anything, but it's a step in the right direction towards your college applications."

Caroline smiled from ear to ear as she thought about how great it would be to be here every day doing something that she loved to do. Of course, she wanted this opportunity. She'd be crazy to turn it down.

"I'd be happy to Mrs. Saltzman. When do I start?"

"Well I have to get the details straightened out with the principal, but if things work out like they're supposed to, you should be able to start next week."

"Sounds good to me."

"Excellent." She said as she grabbed a paper on her desk and studied it. "I won't hold you two up any longer. Go on and have a nice day and I'll see you sometime next week Caroline."

"See you around Mrs. Saltzman."

"She seems nice." Klaus said as they exited the library walking together to their next class that they just so happened to have together along with Elena of all people.

"She's the best. If you ever feel as if you don't belong here, she's the person you go to to make yourself feel something again."

"Has she ever helped you?"

"More than a lot of people know. Let's just say that after my father died, a lot of shit went down in my life and I lost a lot of friends because of it, but she was never one of those people. She understood what I was going through, and she helped me through it alongside Elena, so I guess that's why we're still friends, because she was there for me when I needed her most, and that's all I really need is for her to show me she cares. Even if it's just a little bit."

"I'm glad that she was there to help you, but you do know that it's okay to let other people in., right?"

"I'm not sure about that, but thanks for the advice."

"I'm serious Caroline. Believe it or not, not every person you meet wants to watch the world be. Let me prove that to you."

"How? You barely know me."

"I would like to change that. Come with me to my house after school today and I'll show you that not all people are that bad."

"I barely know you. What about your daughter? How will she feel about this?"

"She's two, I doubt she'll care. Come on Caroline, come with me. What do you have to lose?"

"A lot more than you think."

Staring at each other, they stood there for several minutes before a cough beside them dragged their attention from each other as Elena looked between the two of them in confusion. For once Caroline was glad to see her.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked in a curious voice.

"No. Not at all. How was Spanish?" she asked turning the conversation to Elena like she knew she would like.

"Boring as always, but enough about me, aren't you going to introduce me to your hot new friend here?" Elena said as she flashed Klaus her smile. Thankfully for Caroline he didn't seem too impressed.

"Elena, this is Klaus, Klaus this is my best friend, Elena."

"Nice to meet you." Klaus said sounding rather annoyed at the interruption.

"So how do you and my Care bear know each other?" Elena asked as Caroline flinched at Elena's old nickname for her. The one she had always used to embarrass Caroline.

"We met at Damon's party." Caroline answered before Klaus could. It wasn't far from the truth, but Caroline didn't want Elena to know the full truth. After all the tracks was their place and she had already broken the rules once, she would hate to confine in Elena once more that she had broken the rules yet again.

"Oh, how fun, I thought you left after our fight?"

She did, but she wasn't about to let Elena know that. There were some secrets that even she was allowed to keep.

"I did. We met before that. I just forgot to tell you about it because I had to go deal with my sister before we got the chance to properly meet."

"Well that's a shame that she interrupted the conversation between you two, luckily he goes here right?" Elena asked her with a ruthless smile, but right now Caroline did not feel like dealing with it right now.

"We should probably head inside, class is going to start soon, and I don't feel like getting in trouble for attendance on my first day." she claimed as her mouth clamped shut after that. The words defiantly sounded harsher than she had intended them to be and judging from the expression on Elena's face she didn't appreciate her tone a single bit. Great. She didn't want to deal with this right now.

"What's your damage Caroline? I was just trying to be polite and have a proper conversation with Klaus like a normal person. Why are you getting so defensive suddenly?"

"I'm not getting defensive, I just don't want you to be late. You know how your mom gets when you have too many tardies on your record."

"I guess you're right, I was just having fun is all. It's not every day that you get to talk to someone new around here." Elena answered as her eyes traveled up and down Klaus's body making Caroline gulp in frustration.

Of course, Elena found Klaus hot. Why wouldn't she? And if Elena chose to pursue Klaus there was nothing Caroline could really say about it. You didn't cross Elena Gilbert here, it was a dumb move if you did and Caroline was anything but stupid.

Thankfully for Caroline she didn't have to answer Elena, because it was at that moment Klaus had came to her rescue. A disingenuous smile crossing his lips at Elena's expense. It seemed as if he wanted her gone as much as Caroline did at that moment.

"Caroline's right, we should be heading to class. Besides we have more than enough time to get to know each other at the Rent auditions today."

"Oh, you guys didn't hear apparently there was a change of plans with the production. It got shut down because the principal found out about it and said that it was inappropriate."

"So, there's no audition today?" Caroline asked sounding giddy at the thought of not having to go through with her and Elena's original deal. Maybe she would really get off easy this time. That wasn't her luck unfortunately.

"What? No. Of course not. Our drama teacher wouldn't give up that easily. It's just a showcase now instead that way if we still want to sing a song or two from Rent, we can, it's just that the principal doesn't want there to be any bad repercussions from the parents. So, we're still auditioning, but it'll be with songs that we'll want to sing out there on the stage. Isn't that amazing?"

Caroline gulped, it was one thing to go out there and perform someone else's work, that she w=could do, it was another thing to think of concepts of her own. How could Elena do this to her? Did she really hate her that much?

"Sounds great. Are we ready to go inside?" Klaus asked gesturing towards the door.

With a nod, Elena looped her arms through Caroline's pulling her towards the door as she turned back to Klaus and said "Sorry to take you're her away from you, but my bestie always sits by me in math class every year and this year will be no exception. I guess that means you'll have to find someone else to sit by. But you could talk to us after class if you want to."

Klaus's reply was washed away as fear slammed against her chest making her instantly want to run in the other directions. Out of all the places he could have been today, Stefan Salvatore just had to be sitting in her math class where both Klaus and Elena could see her break down right in front of them. No. She couldn't let that happen.

Before she could bolt to the other side of the school, Elena's eyes landed on Stefan as she squeezed Caroline's arm in reassurance. She knew that Elena would come to her defense if Stefan even stepped a foot in her direction, but even Elena couldn't protect her forever. She was just glad that in some kind of way Elena was there for her. Even if it was just to stop her from embarrassing her.

"You got this. Don't let that bastard take anything else from you. He doesn't deserve it."

Caroline nodded in agreement as she took her seat beside Elena and tried but mostly failed to concentrate on her assignment. It was easier said than done as Caroline's eyes traveled back and forth between her three distractions in the room.

First was Elena who was trying hard at work texting her friends to try to figure something out because that's what she would rather concentrate on then math. It had never been her strong suit and she would much rather pass math with the assistance of her many friends than by her own accord. During the mist of all this Elena caught her staring sending her a sad smile as she turned back to her phone letting Caroline know that she did pity her situation if nothing else Caroline at least had that much to go on.

Gathering all her courage she glanced two rows back to catch a good look at Stefan only to realize that he was the one staring at her with such an intensity that she could swear that they had never split up in the first place. It was the stare he had always reserved for her when he had wanted her. The stare that she knew all too well. The one that she feared now.

Needing some reassurance, Caroline's gaze drifted to the one person she knew would calm her racing thoughts as she glanced ahead at Klaus who was now at the front of the classroom not that he seemed to mind being there. A smile passed by Caroline's face as Klaus looked consumed by his work solving his equations like a pro. He obviously loved math which was something Caroline didn't see very often and was rather intrigued by. Another reason to be attracted to him she guessed as she brought her focus back to her work. She would much rather solve these problematic equations than her own. Little did she know that her problems were just beginning.

When class dispersed Caroline was walking out with Elena and Klaus as footsteps fell behind them and she turned her head slightly to see that it was Stefan. Great. What the hell did he want with her now? She guessed that she should deal with him now no matter how much her anxiety was telling her it wasn't a good idea. She wanted to get passed this problem, so she could get through the rest of her day in peace. Sighing she pretended to rummage through her pockets for her phone as she glanced at Elena and Klaus who were now exchanging worried glances at her and each other.

"Shit. I think I left my phone in class, I'm going back to go find it. You guys go ahead without me."

"If your sure." Elena questioned not sure if she should go on without Caroline or not.

"I'll be fine. You guys go ahead." She said glancing between them and pretending that everything was fine when deep down she knew it wasn't.

Elena nodded her understanding as Klaus gave her a look of confusion before they left leaving Caroline alone to confront her demons by herself.

Turning around, Caroline made her way back to the class brushing her fingers against Stefan's in one of the secret gestures they had made for each other when they were hooking up. She didn't want to hook up with him again by any means, but she really needed to talk to him. She had to make sure that if she was going to try to move on that he wouldn't interfere with that in any way shape or form. Caroline couldn't do that to Klaus. Hell, she couldn't even do that to Stefan no matter how much he had hurt her. She wasn't that kind of person and she never would be.

Walking into the classroom as she sat her backpack down in an unoccupied seat, Caroline heard the footsteps behind her and immediately knew that it was Stefan. She would know that fresh clean scent from anywhere. It was a scent that she used to wrap herself into over and over again until it threatened to consume her entire being, but she couldn't think of that now. She had to be brave. She just had to.

"Listen, Stefan I- "she started as she turned around to face him and was immediately met with his lips on hers.

It took her mind a split second to catch up with what was happening, but in that split second so much had happened. She had felt her body respond to Stefan's. Felt her tongue meet his and her heart beat in rhythm with his. Almost like they used to do before he had cheated on her with-

Pulling away as quickly as if he burned her, Caroline inched closer to the desk she had put her stuff on trying to get as far away from Stefan as physically possible. What the hell was she doing? This was not what she wanted? Wasn't it?

"What the hell are you doing?" she questioned as she made a show of wiping her mouth off with her hand like the kiss had repulsed her somehow instead of the exact opposite, but it seemed as if he didn't take the hint as he moved closer to her resting his hands on her hips causing her to gulp in response. God. She hated that she loved when he touched her like this. It was why she had stayed away from him for so long.

"What do you think I'm doing? Oh God Care, I've missed you so much." He said pressing his lips to her ear and inhaling her scent.

Anger swelled in Caroline's chest as she gave Stefan a shove sending him into the other desk. What the hell was wrong with this guy? Couldn't he tell how much he had hurt her?

"What the hell Caroline? I thought you wanted this. I thought you wanted to get back to the way we used to be before shit went down between us."

"You mean when I found you underneath my sister, Yeah, I remember that all too well."

Stefan stared at her intensely as he shuffled his feet on the hard wood floors. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn that he actually felt guilty. Unfortunately for him though, she knew him all too well. The words he had said to her when he had last saw her still floating through her mind. Worthless. Selfish. Piece of shit. Whore. She had heard it all and did it ever hurt when it came from the mouth that had spoken such sweet nothings in her ears. It was painful because he had finally showed her his true side and boy did it kill her when he broke that illusion. Now she didn't know the guy that was standing beside her. She wasn't even too sure if she ever did.

"Can we drop that please? I can't stand you being mad at me Caroline and I would have apologized to you sooner if my mom didn't force me to spend the summer with her after the incident. So, in a way we're both at fault for what happened to us don't you think?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?! You used me Stefan! You fucked my sister and when I finally got angry enough with you to confront you about it you called me a whore! Well fuck you Stefan, because I'm not the piece of shit! You are! And I'll be damned if I let you use me again just, so you could get off! Now please kindly fuck off before I'll do something I might regret."

During her tryst, Caroline had not realized they had been moving this entire time. Now Stefan's back was firmly pressed against the chalk board as she was mere inches away from him. If she really wanted to she could close the proximity between them and show him exactly what he was missing. It had been a while and it was only fair that she could use him like he had used her. Would it really hurt to give in just this once? She had heard that hate sex was pretty damn hot not that she had participated in it, but there was also something screaming in her to walk away. To turn away from Stefan while she still had the chance, but she couldn't tell how or why but something about Stefan's vulnerability just seemed, well, hot. Dammit. She knew this had been a horrible idea. Why the hell did she subject herself to this?

"Like what?" he asked his voice a challenge. Taunting her just like he always had when they were together and that was what did it. That was how she became undone at the hands of Stefan Salvatore.

Before he could fully comprehend what, she was doing, Caroline used the full force of her body to slam him into the chalkboard smashing her lips to his in a passionate and animalistic way. This wasn't about love this time. This was about just pure sex. And god did the thought of getting fucked in a classroom make her feel hot. Fuck. This was what she needed.

Breathless he pulled away from her a sly smile crossing his lips as if he had won. If only he knew.

"That's my girl." He said pulling her closer slipping her jacket off her shoulders as she tossed it to the floor.

"Shut up." She exclaimed pressing her lips harder to his as she jumped into his arms and he caught her hoisting her up and crashing her body into the teacher's desk causing pens to scatter all over the floor. It was a wonder that no one had caught them by this point considering all the noise they were making.

"Is this what you want?" he grunted wanting nothing more then to tear her clothes off as much as she wanted to tear off his.

"What the fuck do you think?" she challenged as she removed her spaghetti strap exposing her breast that weren't being held by a bra.

"Fuck, Care." He whispered almost breathless.

"You haven't done that yet." Slamming her back down to the desk with as much strength he had. Caroline gasped as he slid her panties to the side (thank God for skirts) and gently sliding his fingers in and out of her as she moaned between his hot and passionate kisses. Shit. She had missed this.

His lips trailed down her neck in hungry kissing as he pumped faster and faster begging her to reach climax so they could fuck once more. That's all it was she had to tell herself. This was the last time. She couldn't keep doing this, but dammit did he feel good. His tip had just pushed past her entrance pumping into her at least twice before a voice called from the door causing her heart to drop from her chest.

"What the fuck?" the voice had said sounding all to familiar as Caroline tilted her head back to see that Klaus was now standing in the doorway and all he was seeing was Caroline mostly naked and Stefan inside her. There was no coming back from this. She had really fucked up.

"Do you mind bro? We were kind of in the middle of something."

Pain and shame radiated through Klaus's face as Caroline's heart slammed against her chest. Fuck. Fuck.

"Yeah I do." Was all Klaus said as he walked away leaving them to finish whatever it was that they were doing, but she couldn't let that happen. How had she even let this happen? Did she have no respect for herself or anyone else for that matter? Maybe she really was the whore that Stefan had claimed her to be.

Shoving Stefan off her, Caroline gathered her clothes getting dressed in a hurry as Stefan looked at her in confusion.

"What is it? What's wrong?" was all he said.

"Everything." She answered as she ran after Klaus to fix what had she had just fucked up.


	4. Chapter 4

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 4

"Klaus wait!" Caroline shouted as she ran after Klaus's retreating form.

She couldn't believe what she had just done. She wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to talk to her again. Sure, they weren't actually together, hell they weren't even friends yet, his opinion of her shouldn't really matter to her, but somehow, someway, it did. And she had no real clue how the hell she was going to fix this one. She had fucked up. Again.

But by some miracle, Klaus had heard her even though he was already at the other side of the hallway and had turned around to meet her staying in the exact place where he was, so she would have to come to him. She guessed she owed him considering how much she just fucked up.

Finally, she reached him as his face showed nothing but fury and pain even in this state, he was beautiful. Exhaling Caroline prepared herself to speak, shocked that Klaus had said the first words in their conversation.

"You know if you had a boyfriend all you had to do was tell me, you didn't have to lead me on like you did. I thought you were better than that. Did you and Elena just spot me at the party and decide to fuck with me, because that's the type of girls you are? Are you even aware at how much pain you can cause by doing that shit? I have a daughter Caroline. Her mother's not in the picture right now for a reason. I can't fuck up her life anymore than I've already have just to entertain your idea of a sick fucking game."

Caroline bit her lips in response wanting nothing more than to defend herself but not sure what exactly to say. All she knew was that she had to say something.

"I'm nothing like Elena." She managed to say trying to fight back her tears. God. Why was this so hard for her to get out?

"You could have fooled me." He said turning around to walk away again.

"Wait." She cried as he turned around to meet her. They were close. So, so close. She could have kissed him if she wanted to, but she settled for throwing herself into his arms instead.

"I'm so, so sorry Klaus. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. It's just that me and Stefan have a history together and I was so caught up in the moment that I know it sounds selfish, but I just wanted what I wanted at that moment. I wanted revenge. I wanted to feel wanted no matter what the consequences. If it means anything to you, I hate myself for it. I'll never be able to live this down either. I'm pretty sure he's letting his friends know we hooked up as we speak."

"Can I ask you an honest question?" Klaus asked pulling away.

"Anything."

"Why did you bother hooking up with him in the first place if you knew how it was going to end?"

"I already told you we have history together."

"What does that even mean?"

"Ask me to come over again." Caroline said finally having a solution to their problem.

"I don't think that's such a- "

"Please." She whispered looking up at him through her eyelashes. She always hated begging, but she didn't know what else she could do.

"Did you want to come over to my house after the audition tonight?" he asked before adding. "As friends."

"I would love to." She added with a sad smile.

"Well as much as I hate to interrupt whatever this is between us, I really do need to get to class. I'll see you at the audition?"

"I'm still not sure if I'm up for that. I don't think I'll be any good. Hell, I might pass out on stage." She laughed nervously.

"Like I said earlier you need to own that stage even if you think you suck. Just pick a song that makes you feel great and do it. No thinking about it. Just do.

"Easier said than done."

"You'll be perfect." He said stroking her face as she looked up at him with a smile. "I should go." He whispered beside her lips.

'You could stay' she wanted to say but didn't dare after what had happened with Stefan just moments again. She needed to be fair here.

"Yeah, I should really get going too. I'll see you later." She said as she gave his arm a firm grip and went off to class to think of what the hell, she was going to do next.

"Tell me it's not true." Elena accused slamming Caroline's locker as she turned to her to see what the hell she wanted now. It had been quite the day and it wasn't even four yet. All she wanted was to go to this audition and to go home. Was that too much to ask?

"What's not true?"

"Tell me that you did not sleep with Stefan Salvatore again. We talked about this Caroline, He's not good for you. He's a liar, a cheater, and do I have to mention that he slept with your sister of all people and made you crazy for months on end. Why would you do that? I didn't even think you liked him anymore. "

"Talking shit about me again Gilbert?" a voice asked behind them as Caroline narrowed her eyes at the sight of Lexi.

"Maybe if you didn't act like such a slut than I wouldn't have shit to talk about now would I Alexia." Elena asked with a challenge in her voice.

"You're one to talk Gilbert didn't you ditch my sister to hang with Salvatore last night? Nice hickie by the way." Lexi retorted as Elena covered her neck to hide whatever Lexi had seen there.

"What the hell are you doing here Lexi?" Caroline interrupted tired of the banter between the two.

"The same thing as you, big sister. I'm auditioning for the showcase, so we could spend more time together. Isn't that great?" Lexi said with a wicked smile that made Caroline feel like she wasn't being genuine.

"Cut the bullshit Lexi. Why are you really here?" Elena asked speaking for Caroline even though Caroline was more than willing to call her sister out herself.

"I already told you two why I'm here, it's your fault if you don't believe me."

"Fine. Keep your reasons to yourself but find somewhere else to sit your sister and I were actually talking about something important before you so rudely interrupted us."

"Oh, you mean that my sister slept with Stefan even though she swore up and down to almost everyone involved that she would never do it again. Yeah everyone is already aware of that. I don't even know why you're bothering asking her when she won't give you any of that information. It's actually really sad when you think about it, going back to a guy who stuck his dick in your sister. I thought you would at least do better than that Caroline, but I guess we'll never know. Tell me how I taste on his lips because I swore that before he hooked up with you today, he was inside me shortly before that."

Mortified, Caroline wanted nothing more than to shrink into her body and disappear, but she knew realistically she couldn't do that as she looked down at her hands pretending to be interested in something else when all she wanted to do was get out of there and hide in her room from her shame. Why had she agreed to do this again?

"Don't be so callused Lexi, sleeping with Stefan before Caroline isn't really an accomplishment, now do us both a favor and take you sexually transmitted infections somewhere else."

"Whatever. Later losers, I have more interesting people to waste my time with."

Rolling her eyes, Elena turned back to Caroline as another person sat down beside her and Caroline glanced at him with her face still a color of scarlet. She knew that he noticed she was embarrassed, but thankfully he didn't say anything.

"Someone really should put a muzzle on that sister of yours."

"Or a chastity belt." Caroline retorted as Elena laughed with a snort.

"Trouble in paradise?" Klaus asked warranting a smile from Caroline.

"Nah, Caroline's sister is just a bitch."

"Good to know. Are you girls ready for this?"

"Please I was born ready." Elena gloated flashing that smile at Klaus.

"And what about you Caroline? Are you still nervous?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?"

"It's up to you. No pressure though, I have a feeling that we'll be feeling enough of that up there. Where is this teacher anyway?"

As if on cue, the drama teacher, Jenna Sommers, entered the room as the students who had bothered to show up followed her with their gazes. She stepped on the stage sending a smile out to all the students.

"Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to the auditions for the showcase. I know most of you were looking forward to doing Rent and believe me when I say so was I, but unfortunately right now that is just not possible. That being said I'm still so excited to see what you guys have prepared in such a short time, because as most of you know sometimes the best performances are impromptu. Now I have the sign-up sheets with everyone's name on it, so when I call your name, just come up to the stage and we'll go from there. Any questions before we get started?"

Silence passed through the room as they silently looked at each other wondering if anyone was going to speak up. No one did.

"Well now that that's been settled, Let's get our first participant. Stefan Salvatore. You're up first."

"With pleasure." Stefan said getting up on the stage while Ms. Sommers looked at her notebook where she had taken a seat.

"What will you be singing for us today?"

"I'll be singing Wait by Maroon 5."

"And why did you choose this song?"

"I feel like this song fits me, because it's about a man trying to get his lover to take him back after he did something to mess it up. I feel like I relate to this feeling a lot, because even I mess up with this every now and again. I'm trying to get better though. So, there's that."

"Proceed."

"Does he seriously expect us to believe this shit?" Elena asked as Stefan sung the opening verse. He really was good at singing just like he was good at everything else. With a shrug, Caroline ignored Elena's question and listened to Stefan's song as she noticed that she was not the only one who was staring at him.

Looking in front of her, Caroline noticed Lexi sitting a few rows away as her friend, April, squeezed her shoulder in comfort like it was her who had had her heart broken. Like she could actually know what that felt like. Caroline rolled her eyes in annoyance as she waited for Stefan to finish her song, so she could stop enduring this torture. So, the memories of what happened to them would stop repeating in her head over and over. That's when something clicked within her head. It was just one song, but it had been in her head for months and now she was finally ready to share it with the world or rather what it meant to her per se.

"Thank you, Stefan that was very nice. You may take a seat. Elena Gilbert, you're up."

"Wish me luck not that I'll need it."

"Good luck." Caroline said as Klaus gave an exasperated eye roll causing her to chuckle.

"Is she always this head strong?" Klaus whispered into Caroline's ear.

"And what song will you be singing for us today Elena?" Jenna asked as Elena had introduced herself on the stage.

"I'm glad you asked Ms. Sommers. Today I will be singing God is a Woman by Arianna Grande. I'm pretty sure everyone here knows why I made that choice as well." she said staring off in the crowd almost challenging them to oppose her. No one did.

"Never mind. I think I just answered my own question."

As Elena sang, Caroline felt herself feeling smaller and smaller as her voice filled the auditorium with confidence that Caroline could never possess. Of course, she would find another thing that she was good at. Of course, all eyes were on her. Even Klaus seemed somewhat impressed. Great. Why did she ever think that she could beat her best friend at anything including winning over a certain person's affection.

"Thank you, Elena, that was very…. interesting. Alright next up we have- "

Bonnie Bennett. Enzo St. John. Tyler Lockwood. Matt Donavan. Davina Clare. Camille O Connell…. The names kept coming as more students got up on stage and made Caroline feel smaller and smaller while some of them were mediocre at best, she knew that she really didn't have a place here. And oh, how Klaus's eyes had traveled on that last one. Did he think she was cute? Why did it matter to her anyway? She knew Camille, Cami for short, she was pretty much perfect in every way.

Blonde hair with green eyes and a perfectly symmetrical face that could make people weak in the nice. It also didn't help that she was nice, smart, and had everything planned out in her life even down to what she wants to go to college for. Psychology. Like she couldn't have been any more of a saint.

"Alexia Forbes." Ms. Sommers said as Caroline stiffened in her chair. For a second, she had forgotten that Lexi was there.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather be called Lexi. It's shorter and it sounds better in my mind."

"Very well Lexi, what will you be singing for us today?"

"Without me by Halsey. No explanation needed."

"You've got to be kidding me." Caroline said as Elena looked at her seeming as if she was concerned for once.

"What's wrong?"

"She stole my song Elena. I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't go up there and sing the same song that she just did. How will that look? It'll be embarrassing. Especially if it looks like I'm coping my baby sister."

"Listen Caroline. I know it seems like the end of the world and yes, your sister is a bitch, that's already been established, but I know you and I know your brain. You're smart enough to figure this out so please just relax and think. I know you'll think of something great."

Sighing Caroline looked around nervous as she felt a hand slip in hers as her eyes landed on Klaus's. His full attention on her for once since she had fucked it up so badly.

"She's right you know. Your way too awesome to let this little set back affect you. Sing about what you know, and the rest will follow."

"How could you say that? You hardly know me."

"Let's just say I have a good feeling about you. Trust me when I say no matter what you sing you have nothing to worry about."

Caroline nodded not sure that she could trust her voice, but somehow, she trusted that it would all be okay. Even if it wasn't.

"That was beautiful Lexi. Alright next up we have Klaus Mikaelson."

"I guess that's my cue. Guess I better get up there huh?"

"You'll be amazing. Now go up there and wow every panty dropping girl in this place."

"I seriously doubt that panties will drop tonight, but thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll see you in a minute."

"Careful there Caroline, you're drooling." Elena sneered as Caroline wiped at her chin.

"And what will you be singing for us today Mr. Mikaelson?"

"Not to recycle the same old song and dance, but I too chose a Halsey song for this audition. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, but which one are you going to sing for us. "

"I'm going to be singing sorry. I feel like it fits me a little better."

"Then by all mean, don't let us stop you."

She expected Klaus to take his phone to the stagehand to his right, but surprisingly he only waved him off and made his way over to the piano sitting down as the melody to Sorry by Halsey played by his fingers and he sang as if he had been doing this all his life. Yet another thing that surprised her about him. Who was this guy and where the hell had he been all her life? She knew it sounded cliché, but that's what she felt, and she wouldn't apologize for it.

When Klaus was finished a clap sounded in the audience and she was surprised to realize it was hers as he made his way back to where she was now standing. Seriously. What the hell was wrong with her? She was so embarrassingly cringey sometimes.

"Sorry." She whispered as he gave her a small smile.

"Don't be."

"Alright Caroline. You're up."

Nodding, Caroline looked up into Klaus's eyes hoping for some sort of reassurance.

"I have an idea, come on, follow me." He said grabbing her hand and leading her onto the stage.

"Klaus, you've already performed. It's Caroline's turn." Ms. Sommers said confused.

"He's assisting me. I didn't bring any music today and he knows how to play the song that I want." Caroline answered covering to Klaus who nodded in approval.

"I see well. What will you be singing for us today?"

"I guess that will be a surprise."

Looking at Klaus, he sat down at the piano and played the familiar tune that brought a smile to her face. She smiled, grabbed the mic, and started to sing Rolling in the Deep by Adele. She knew she couldn't sing it as well as Adele could, but she was defiantly feeling herself in the song and even through in some dance moves for dramatic effect. She had never felt as great as she did singing that song and, on that stage, pretending that no one else was there as the music consumed her.

When it was over a couple of claps sounded from the audience including Stefan and Elena. Lexi scowled at her as Klaus got up from the piano and gave her a hug.

"That was amazing I knew you could do it."

"I don't know how. It was like something else took over me, but it was so amazing."

"I'm glad. Come on let's go sit down."

Caroline nodded as they got off the stage and went back to their seats waiting patiently as the auditions came to a close.

"Alright everyone results will be posted later on tonight. Thank you everyone who came in to audition today and I hope to see all your faces at the show in a couple of months. You are dismissed."

People left the auditorium as her, Elena, and Klaus stood there talking about the audition.

"We are so in guys. This show is going to be amazing for all of us. Especially if Caroline sings the way she did today. Good job girl, I didn't know you were that good."

"I don't know how I did it, but I'm glad I didn't throw up all over that stage."

"You really were amazing Care." A voice said from behind them as Caroline swung around to see Stefan staring at her up and down all while sizing up Klaus. Some people may not have noticed the hug between her and Klaus, but she knew for a fact that Stefan did, and it showed.

"Hey Stefan, I almost didn't notice you without Caroline's sister following you around like a trained puppy dog." Elena said with a wicked smile.

"She's not my problem Elena." Stefan answered with an eye roll obviously annoyed that him and Caroline couldn't have this conversation alone.

"Well neither is Caroline, so you should do her a favor and leave her the fuck alone."

"I'm pretty sure Caroline could speak for herself Elena. She doesn't need you to protect her from everyone who comes her way/ She's not a fucking child. Are you Caroline?" Stefan said turning his attention back to her.

"What do you want Stefan?" she said somewhat exasperated. She didn't want to deal with this right now. For once she actually had plans and she wanted to get to them.

"I was hoping we could go somewhere and talk. I feel like there's a lot we have to talk about."

Caroline knew that Elena wanted to say something to Stefan luckily Caroline had the perfect retort this time.

"Oh, I'm sorry Stefan, but I actually have plans with Klaus tonight, but maybe we can talk some other time." She answered earning a look of approval from Elena.

"Don't look so upset Stefan, she's ditching me to suck Klaus's dick too. Have fun you two and don't do anything I wouldn't do." Elena said with a wink as Stefan's face turned redder than she had ever seen it. Good. He deserved to be angry for once.

"We should probably get going. I'll see you later." Caroline said looking at Klaus who nodded getting his keys out of his pocket so they could get out of there as fast as possible.

"Yeah. Later." Stefan said to her confirming that this conversation wasn't over yet.

"Later girl." Elena called back as she turned to talk some more with Stefan probably so she could give him a piece of her mind. Caroline didn't want to hear that, so she quickened her pace until her and Klaus were both outside.

"Are you okay? That seemed a little intense." Klaus said putting his hand on her shoulder so she could stop and catch her breath.

"Sorry, I guess I'm still not used to having conversations with my exes. Especially how the last one with him went…"

"So, I saw... listen Caroline if you don't want to come over that's up to you. I may have overreacted earlier when it came to you and Stefan. It's not like we're together or anything. Hell, you haven't even known me for a full day, and you've known him longer. You have a connection with him that we don't have and that will take some time to get over. I should have understood more especially after what happened with Hailey…"

"How about we make a deal. We'll head to your house and if we want to, we'll talk about Stefan and Hailey and all the drama surrounding that. But only if we want to."

"Sounds like a good idea. Come on, let's go. I already told my mother you're coming, and she says she's working on dinner now. I hope you're not a vegetarian, our family likes to eat meat."

"No problems here. I'm famished so dinner actually sounds amazing."

"Great. Let's go." Klaus said as they made it to his car waiting to see where this conversation would go next.


	5. Chapter 5

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 5

The drive to Klaus's house was silent as the car flooded with music. Caroline didn't mind the silence, because music was one escape that she did mind if it got interrupted. She smiled from ear to ear when the song Young God by Halsey came on and she turned up the volume a little more, so she could jam out to it.

Klaus looked at her smiling to himself but didn't say anything keeping his attention on the road as if they both didn't have a care in the world. It was a really nice moment. One of which she didn't experience very often. It was amazing and incredible when she did. It was one of those little moments that made her life and kept her in check.

When they pulled up to his house Caroline stared in awe as she looked upon the house that he called his home. She had to admit it was quite the charming little house with its warm yellow paint, white roof, and white picket fence. It was like it was straight out of a modern-day fairytale. And she had to admit that she did love her fairytales.

"Your house is beautiful."

"It might not be much, but it's everything that we have and for right now it's good enough."

Caroline smiled as he got out of the car and went to her door to open it. She loved that he was such a gentleman. Most guys did that for Elena, but none of them really did that for her. And she had to admit that it was kind of nice. He held his hand out for her and she took it feeling the warmth in it.

He pulled her out of the car and before he could let go, she tripped over the uneven sidewalk sending her flying into his arms. He caught her as she tried to regain her balance but all that did was put her closer to his face. She could see the blue in his eyes so clearly and the shape of his mouth that it made her feel all kinds of warmth inside. She was so close to his lips that if she budged even the slightest inch, she could kiss him. She wondered what his lips tasted like. What it would be like for their bodies to melt together. She could do it if she just stopped feeling so much. If she was more like Elena or hell more like anyone else. But she wasn't and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would never be that girl, so instead of kissing him like she wanted to, she regained her balance and stepped away before they could do anything further.

"Are you okay" he asked seeming like he was trying to catch his breath. As if that one touch had affected him as much as it had affected her.

"Ugh, yeah. I'm just a klutz. I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

"I'll always forgive you Caroline Forbes."

Caroline smiled as she followed Klaus to his front door. He turned the key in the lock and opened his door as Caroline looked at his house. She had to admit that it was more charming on the inside than it had been on the outside and she hadn't thought that would have been possible.

"Hey mom I'm home!" Klaus shouted.

A girl with long blonde hair came into the room and smiled at both Klaus and Caroline. She looked a little too young to be a mother, but Caroline knew that sometimes some mothers looked younger than what they were so she wasn't going to judge.

"Mom's not home right now. She took an extra shift at the dinner and might I say that you should really keep your voices down. I just barely put Hope down for a nap and she's been fussy all day. Who's this?"

"Ugh Caroline this is my sister Rebekah. Rebekah this is my friend Caroline Forbes."

"A friend. Really? She's too pretty to be just a friend. Don't you think?"

"Well she is, and I would appreciate you minding your own business. Where's our other siblings?"

"I'm not their keeper Klaus, but I am glad your home. I have a date tonight with Marcel and I'm really looking forward to it so if you could watch your own daughter than I would really appreciate it."

"Of course. I always hate leaving her anyway."

"It was nice meeting you Caroline. I hope to see you again real soon."

Caroline smiled as Rebekah shut the door leaving her and Klaus alone.

"Sorry about Rebekah, she likes to think she knows it all sometimes. I'm sorry if she made you uncomfortable."

"Not at all. So where is this amazing baby girl that you keep raving about? I would love to at least see her while I'm here."

He smiled as if he hadn't really heard that before.

"Of course. Follow me."

Caroline smiled as she followed him to his daughter's room. She had to admit that she was nervous to meet such a big part of Klaus's life, but she knew that Hope was not going anywhere and she would really love to keep being in his life which meant accepting the parts of him that not a lot of people related to including herself.

The room Klaus took her to a room that was probably one of the best nursery's she had ever seen in her entire life. She couldn't believe her own eyes as she took it all in. The room was surrounded by paintings of what she had known was the French corner, a few dressers aligned the walls, stuffed animals scattered around the floor and then she saw a tiny wooden bed. It was really incredible.

"Oh my god Klaus this is amazing."

"Thank you."

"Where did you get these paintings?"

"I made them actually."

Caroline turned around in amazement. Was there actually anything this guy couldn't do?

Before she could answer the question, a small noise came from the bed and Klaus went to it. Caroline knew that she was certainly awake. Klaus stretched and grabbed her from her bed as Caroline saw his daughter in real life for the first time. Her auburn curls framed her face as her blue eyes (Klaus's eyes) stared back at her in wonder. Probably trying to decipher who this new person in her bedroom was.

"Who's this daddy?" Hope asked rubbing her eyes to get rid of any sleep that might be there.

"This is my friend Caroline sweetie. She's going to stay for dinner. Did you want to help us with it? Or would you rather sleep?"

"I'd rather help you two. I'm not really tired and I don't know why Aunt Bec tried to put me to bed."

"Have you had a nap anytime today?"

Hope averted her eyes refusing to answer the question that Klaus had just asked as she wandered towards her door.

"We better start dinner before Grammy comes home." Hope said opening the door as Klaus turned to Caroline.

"Well it looks like she really likes you. I haven't seen her like anyone like this except her-"

A sad look crossed over Klaus's face, but quickly evaporated when Hope gave him a look of exasperation.

"You know what it doesn't matter now anyway. Let's go start dinner. You want to help us, or do you just want to hang out in the living room?"

"I think I'll help you guys if you don't mind."

"Sounds great. What do we want for dinner?"

"Pizza!" Hope said excited as she ran into the kitchen.

"No running in the house Hope! I don't want you hurting yourself. And if we have pizza, we're making salad with it!"

"Fine." Hope groaned as Caroline gave a little laugh at her exasperation. She sounded like most kids who didn't enjoy their vegetables.

"Would you like to join us? I don't know how good your cooking skills are but Hope and I are very patient when it comes to our teaching skills."

"Sure." Caroline answered giving him a polite smile as she followed him into the kitchen.

"You ready to show my friend Caroline how to properly make a pizza?" Klaus asked Hope as she gazed at the contents of their fridge.

"Yeah!" Hope exclaimed happily.

"All right. First up we'll need to gather up our ingredients. We'll need the tomato paste, oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, sugar, salt, black pepper, pepperoni, mozzarella, and the crust. Who wants to get what?" Klaus asked as they divided up who got what and who made what.

When they got the pizza in the oven, Klaus turned to Hope who was now covered in sauce and smiled.

"This part always seems to take a while sweet heart. Go ahead and go watch TV after you wash up, we'll let you know when the pizza is ready."

"Okay!" Hope exclaimed as she walked out of the room leaving Caroline and Klaus alone. She knew this moment was coming she just wasn't sure she wanted to delve straight into her past just yet.

"Are you doing okay?" Klaus asked as he headed to the sink to start washing dishes.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" she said as she sat down on a nearby stool.

"You've just been really quiet since we started making the pizza."

"Maybe I just like seeing you interact with your daughter."

"Really? Most people would have made any excuse to run out the door by now."

"Well lucky for you, I'm not most people." Caroline stated with a sly smile.

"Yeah. You aren't" Klaus replied ducking his head down to finish the dish he was washing.

"Do you need any help with that?" She asked wanting to fill the silence. She always hated silence.

"If you want to. We can also start a new game of 21 questions if you want. We'll even exclude questions about Stefan or Hayley while we play, because I would rather, we talk about them when Hope isn't in the other room. I know she's probably absorbed in her show right now, but I'd rather be safe then have her exposed to things she shouldn't know about just yet, if you get what I'm saying."

"I get it. We'll wait until you take me home tonight."

"Sounds like a plan."

"So, if you don't want to talk about them, what do you want to talk about?"

"Have you thought about what you want to do after you graduate high school?" he asked surprising her with the question. Out of all the questions he could have asked her, why had he chosen this specific one?

"I guess I haven't really though that far ahead yet."

"How come?"

"I guess after my father died, nothing seemed as important to me anymore and I hardly like high school God knows how bad college will be."

"Who said you need to go to college? You can go to trade school or work or travel. "

"Where would I travel to?"

"Anywhere you want. Where would you like to go?"

"Well I heard New Orleans is quite nice." She responded giving him a sly smile.

"That it is. Maybe we can go there someday."

"Maybe." She answered stepping closer to him. She would do anything to feel those lips on hers again. He was just so close. So intoxicatingly close that she couldn't stand it for anther second.

"Daddy! Uncle Elijah is home!" Hope hollered from the other room as Klaus and Caroline sprung apart at the sudden voice.

"I guess I should go say hi to my brother. I didn't think he'd be home so soon." Klaus said rubbing the back of his neck and moving further away from her.

"Will you other sibling be coming home soon?" she asked trying to settle the blush that had formed on her face.

"With us Mikaelson's I can never tell. Come on, let's go say hi. And don't worry his bark is a lot worse than his bite."

Nodding cautiously Caroline followed Klaus to the living room where Hope was in the arms of a guy who looked at Caroline in confusion.

"What's going on here?" Elijah questioned looking between Klaus and Caroline.

"Daddy has a friend over and we made a pizza together, she isn't too bad. I actually kinda like her." Hope told Elijah who gave her a small smile.

"Well in that case, Hi, I'm Elijah Mikaelson, Klaus's older brother."

"Nice to meet you." Caroline said shaking his hand in a way of greeting. So far, so good.

"Well I hope you made enough pizza for one more. Sorry I didn't call before I came."

"It's alright, and lucky for you we have plenty of food, Rebekah is on a date with Marcel and mom is working an extra shift tonight, so we have plenty of food if you're hungry."

"Where is the rest of the family?"

"You know I have way too much going on to know what's happening in their lives. They could be anywhere for all I know."

"Well in that case, I am rather famished and would love some of that pizza that you're offering."

"It's going to be five more minutes, but if you want you could help me set up the table."

"Sounds like a plan, I have a few things to discuss with you anyway."

"Can they wait until later? It would be rude to exclude our guest from the conversation."

"I'll be fine out here if you want to talk to your brother alone."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, go ahead and talk to your brother., I'll just watch some TV with Hope until you two are finished."

"We won't be long. Come on Elijah, we have a table to set."

When they were both in the dining room, Caroline sat down on the couch as she looked at Hope who was focusing on the living room harder than she was staring at the TV. She wondered if she should talk to her or just leave well enough alone. She figured that maybe the latter would be the best option considering it had been a big move on Klaus's part to introduce them in the first place.

"Is everything alright?" she asked as Hope turned to stare at her.

"They're fighting again." Hope answered sounding discouraged.

"Do they usually fight?" Caroline asked

"Sometimes. They only fight when it has something to do with my mom."

"How does that make you feel?" she asked realizing how much she sounded like her therapist at the moment.

"I hate it when dad and uncle Elijah fight especially when it comes to my mom. I've never met her, and uncle Elijah thinks that dad should change that."

"What do you think?"

"I think that she didn't stay for a reason, so why should me and my dad bother her when we're not what she wants."

"I know that I don't know your mother, but believe me when I say one day, she'll look at her life and feel horrible that you and your dad aren't in it."

"Do you really believe that?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Thanks Caroline." Hope said surprising her when she wrapped her arms around her in a hug.

"No problem." She replied hugging her back.

"I wish my mom cared about me this way." Hope whispered breaking Caroline's heart as Klaus walked back into the room causing Hope to draw away from Caroline.

"Is everything okay in here?" Klaus asked looking down at Hope.

"Yes daddy. Is dinner ready?"

"Yep. That's why I'm in here. I'm getting you and Caroline for dinner."

"Finally." Hope smiled as she hugged her dad and walked into the dining room.

"Is everything really okay?" he asked leveling her with his stare.

"I think they will be, how did the conversation with your brother go?"

"We'll discuss it later. Are you hungry?"

"Starving actually." She answered as they walked into the dining room and ate their dinner.

After Klaus had convinced Elijah to watch Hope for a couple of hours, Klaus and Caroline headed out to his car and drove to a secluded place on the outskirts of town so they could talk. Klaus pout his car in park as Caroline stepped out of the car and sat on the hood looking at the stars in a form of comfort. She always loved the stars.

"So, what did you and Elijah talk about?"

"We talked about you and Hayley."

"What happened?" she asked wondering why they discussed both of them in the same conversation.

"He thinks that I shouldn't have introduced my girlfriend to Hope so soon. He claims that she's already been through enough pain and he thinks I should try contacting Hayley before getting into anything more serious with anyone."

"Do you want to contact her again?"

"I know I should at least try for Hope's sake except I think my heart is tired of thinking that Hayley will come back some day and be the mother that Hope deserves. Is it wrong for me to think that?"

"I think that you should do whatever you think is right for your daughter. Screw whatever anyone else thinks."

"I guess I have a big decision to make and I need time to think about it."

"Take all the time you need."

"With that being said. I think we should just remain friends for now until we get our lives under control. I need to take care of all this stuff with Hayley and you need to figure out what's happening between you and Stefan. I feel like we can't start this relationship until we settle things from our old ones."

"I understand and I fully agree. But first I think we should sort things out with us."

"How so?"

"I feel like we know so much about each other and yet we also know nothing at all."

"Sometimes it's okay not to know everything about each other. There are a few shitty ass things I've done in my life Caroline. Some even you might hate me for."

"I can't ever imagine hating you."

"There are ways trust me."

"Well we don't have to get into those tonight. We'll start off small and see how it goes. Deal."

"Deal." Klaus replied taking her hand and shaking it. "What should we start with?"

"Let's start with how we officially met Hayley and Stefan."

"Well that's actually an interesting story."

"How?"

"Because that was the night, I got her pregnant."

The inside of the club smelled like cheap cigarettes and stale beer as Klaus entered with Elijah and Rebekah as Klaus looked around disappointed. He didn't know what he expected when Elijah had told him about this illegal underground club where teenagers could get into as much trouble as they pleased, but he was defiantly expecting more than this.

The crowd was energetic as the band that was supposed to play tonight set up on the miniature stage that someone had managed to make. Sighing Klaus turned to Rebekah and Elijah wondering why the hell they had chosen this dump to spend their time in tonight. After all there were plenty of places to hang around in New Orleans. Why the hell had they chosen this specific one for the night?

"Remind me again why we're here?"

"Patience brother the best is yet to come. My friend is performing here tonight, and she's always wanted to meet my siblings, so I thought I'd bring you along."

"Why not bring your girlfriend instead?"

"She's not into this kind of stuff besides this is Hayley's night. I want to make sure it's the best."

"I still don't get why you and Hayley just don't date. God knows how much you talk about her." Rebekah added with a small flip of her hair for empathies.

"We're just friends Rebekah. Besides even if we weren't Hayley sees me more as a brother than anything."

"Whatever you say." She said as her eyes gazed the open bar. "I'm so glad they don't check IDS here, I've had a shit week and could really go for a drink."

"I'll come with you, God knows I'm not trashed enough for this shit." Klaus said following Rebekah to the bar where the bartender told them their drink maximum and handed them their first beers of the night.

"I'm going to go dance. Do you want to come with?" Rebekah asked sipping at her beer.

"Nah., I think I'll just stay here and get trashed for the night, but you go ahead and have fun for the both of us."

"Suite yourself. Try not too get too sloshed. God knows how much of a bitch a hangover is especially when it comes to dealing with our mom afterwards."

"I'll keep that in mind. Now go have fun."

When Rebekah was out of sight, Klaus got two or three more beers in before someone sat in the bar stool by him and waved at the bartender for attention.

"Can I get your strongest shot?" a feminine voice asked from his side as he turned his head and his jaw almost immediately hit the floor. She was drop dead gorgeous.

A red dress clung to her every curve as her brown hair was in soft curls past her shoulders. It only made matter worse when she turned around and smiled at him like she knew exactly what he was thinking and didn't mind if that's where the night ended up going.

"Hello gorgeous. What's your name?"

"Niklaus Mikaelson, but I go by Klaus."

"Oh my god no way." She said laughing.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, sorry that was so rude, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hayley Marshall, I'm-"

"My brother Elijah's friend."

"So, Elijah has told you about me."

"All good things I can assure you."

"I wouldn't expect anything less from Elijah, he's nothing if not a proper gentleman. He would never speak an ill word of me no matter how much I deserved it."

"I doubt you could do anything that bad."

"You don't know me. Trust me when I say I can be the worst."

"Well at least you still have your looks." He said giving her a teasing smile. He didn't know why he was flirting with one of his brother's best friends, but it felt good while he did it regardless.

"Ass." Hayley snorted as she punched him in the arm lightly.

"Hey, I was only responding appropriately to your comments about yourself so maybe it's you who's the asshole here."

"Touché."

"But let me make it up to you. Can I buy you a drink?"

"You do know the drinks here are free right?"

"Well in that case, Can I get another round for me and my friend here bartender?"

"Oh, so we're friends now?"

"Any friend of Elijah's is a friend of mine."

"Well in that case, I'm calling in a favor of sorts."

"What kind of favor?"

"You see my ex-boyfriend Jackson came out tonight and I told him that I moved on with someone else already only- "

"You didn't and you need someone to act the part."

"I know it sounds shitty to ask you of all people. If I could ask Elijah to do it, I would. The problem is that Jackson knows Elijah has a girlfriend and it would loom oddly suspicious to him if I suddenly was with Elijah instead of her. I don't want to fuck up what Elijah has with her. He's been too good of a friend to me for me to be that much of an asshole."

"I understand. What do you need me to do?"

"Dance with me."

"Is it really that easy to pretend to be someone's boyfriend?"

"It is if you do as I say and follow my lead. Now come on. Let's dance." Hayley said as she pulled Klaus out to the dance floor.

Putting his hands to her hips, Hayley moved to the music as Klaus followed her lead having a lot of fun in the process. He had to admit that Hayley was one hell of a dancer. He wondered what else she could do.

"Where did you learn to move like that?" he asked as she placed her hands behind his neck and danced seductively.

"You see I would tell you, but every girl needs to keep an air of mystery around them."

"Well whatever you're doing may I say it's working quite fantastically."

"Wow Elijah really hasn't told me anything about you."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't mean anything by it, I just meant that out of all the times Elijah has talked about you he's never really mentioned how truly adorable you are."

"Adorable? Please. I'm sexy as hell."

"And funny too. I should really have a conversation with your brother about being a better wingman."

"Why? You interested?" he challenged moving closer to her, so their bodies were pressed firmly together.

"I might be." She whispered as her Hazel green eyes locked on his. He wanted to kiss her so bad so that's exactly what he did.

Her lips tasted as sweet as honey as he pulled her in close wanting nothing more than to feel the warmth of her body on his, but before he could break the kiss and get to know her better, a fist smashed against his face causing him to crash to the floor. What the fuck was that?

"Jackson!" Hayley shouted angry at the sudden interruption, so this was the ex-boyfriend she had been talking about.

"What the fuck Hayley!? You left me for this asshole over here. I bet he's not even half the man that I am."

"Obviously he's a better one, because he's not over here challenging you like a fucking pack animal."

"You know what, this is ridiculous. We're leaving. Come on." Jackson grumbled grabbing onto Hayley's upper arm squeezing tightly.

"Ow Jackson. Let go. You're hurting me." Hayley cried as Klaus managed to get up ready to fight this guy.

"Stop fucking crying Hayley! Obviously, you're on your mess again or else you wouldn't even be talking to a pansy ass bitch like him. God. You're so pathetic. Doing any guy that even looks your way. Disgusting. I don't even know why I bothered with you to begin with. You're such a fucking sl-"His words were cut short as Klaus's fist slammed into his face as he grabbed Hayley's hand pulling her through the crowd.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they bumped into a couple dancing.

"Anywhere but here." He answered over the crowd.

"Sounds good to me." She answered as they went through the back door of the club trying to catch their breath as they collapsed against a nearby wall.

"Damn girl, I knew you were interesting, but I didn't think you'd have me running around from a guy who acts like a strung-out coke head. "

"Never a dull moment in my life, I guess. Like I said I can be the worst."

"I think Jackson beats you out for that award. How did you meet that jackass anyway?"

"I don't think I should tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because you're the only one I know that doesn't know a thing about me and I think I actually like that about you."

"In all fairness, I just got punched by your crazy ex, so I think you owe me one."

"I guess you have a point there. Fine. You win. I met Jackson on one of my binges."

"Binges?"

"Before you say anything, I'm ninety days sober. It's why Jackson and I broke up. It's hard to get clean when you're with someone who doesn't want to be. That and the program discourages dating other addicts while in recovery."

"Wow. That's some pretty heavy stuff. I can see why you would want a night off from that."

"You aren't going to criticize me for my part in all this? Most people would."

"Well lucky for you I'm not going to do that. I would never criticize a person who's trying to get better."

"Thank you. You have no idea how much that means. Most people look at me and all they can see is the addict I used to be not the girl I've become."

"I see you." He claimed as their lips met in a single moment of passion. A single moment that would change the course of his life forever. He just didn't know it yet.

Her back hit the cold pavement as Klaus loosened the button of his jeans wanting nothing more than to get them off and take her right here and now. He wasn't sure why he was doing this if he was honest. Maybe it was the atmosphere, maybe it was something about the fight that had just occurred, or maybe some small irrational part of him liked the fact that Hayley was one of those girls that he could save somehow. He knew that a person could never truly save another person. That person first must want to be saved, but maybe Hayley was that person. He just wasn't sure yet. All he knew was that there was definitely something between them and he didn't want to lose that quite yet. Even if it was just for that night there was something about her that he just had to have. Something that drove him wild.

Breaking their lips apart, Hayley's breath came out in small, wanting gasp as she gingerly took off her blouse careful not to rub it against any of her makeup as she threw it to the ground and pulled Klaus back to her lips biting the lower part of his which caused him to moan into her mouth. Damn. She had obviously done this before.

"You like that?" she asked, her eyes filling with desire that Klaus had never experienced before.

Nodding, Klaus pulled her closer resting his hands on her breast slipping them under her bra and messaging them until her nipples hardened in response to his touch. God was there anything more beautiful in this world then a woman's breast?

Moving his hands to the back of her bra, Klaus fumbled trying to find the clasp as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion making Hayley laugh slightly. What the hell was wrong with this damn clasp?

"Are you having trouble there?" she asked in-between her giggles.

"I just can't find the stupid clasp."

"It's in the front." She implied as her hands unclasped it exposing her full luscious breast. Maybe he could salvage this night after all.

Gathering all his courage, Klaus rested his hands-on Hayley's breast suddenly feeling self-conscious that he couldn't satisfy her the way she deserved to be satisfied. It's not like his sexual experience went anywhere past this point.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice full of discouragement.

"I feel that if this is going to work out then I need to be completely honest with you. I know this may be quite a bit embarrassing, but you seem to know what you're doing with this and well, I'm, You see I'm a- "

"Virgin?" she answered filling in the blanks.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Kind of, but it's alright. You're young. You have plenty of time to catch up with the rest of your peers."

"It's still embarrassing to be fifteen going on sixteen and still have your virginity intact. I feel like I'm missing out on my right of passage."

"Everyone experiences different things at different rates. Trust me you'll get your chance."

"Did I already ruin mine with you?" he asked looking in her eyes.

"I don't know yet, I guess you'll have to wait and find out." She said as she got up putting back on her shirt and bra.

Climbing the steps to the club, Hayley looked over in Klaus's direction and smiled gesturing her head to the door.

"You coming or what?" Hayley questioned, her smile a little more than scandalous.

"What about your ex?"

"I'm pretty sure security got to him. Now come on, I got a show to do and I would love it if you came to watch."

"Can't argue with that." He answered grabbing her hand, ready to start their journey together.

"Why did you stop the story?" she asked her head laying on his shoulder.

"Because it's getting late and I haven't even given you a chance to start your story, it's only fair that we take turns with this."

"You're right. Where should I start?"

"The begging sounds like a nice idea."

Caroline's heart dropped as she nodded in her head in agreement knowing that when she shared this story with Klaus, he would never look at her the same way again and she wasn't sure if she actually wanted it that way or not. Still he had shared a painful part of his past with her, so it was only fair that she did the same.

Gathering up all her courage, Caroline prepared to tell Klaus about the night she had met Stefan Salvatore….

From the outside of Caroline Forbes's bathroom, everything seemed perfectly normal. Her mother, ecstatic to hear that Caroline was finally going out after weeks of being inside, would be too naïve to notice that inside the bathroom Caroline was anything but fine. She hadn't been ever since her father had died three weeks ago.

Taking a deep shuddering breath, Caroline wiped the tears that were rushing down her cheeks as she lifted her naked body off the bathroom floor wanting nothing more than to lie there for the rest of the night. But she knew if she didn't go out tonight everyone would make a big deal out of it. As if her grief was theirs and not just her own.

Looking at her blood shot eyes in the mirror, Caroline turned on the shower water waiting for it to warm as she opened up her medicine cabinet and grabbed for the bottle of pills that her doctor had prescribed her after her father's death. Looking at the tiny pill in her hands, she contemplated if this shitty little pill would ever make her feel any close to normal again as she dry swallowed it and hoped in the shower where she had turned the water as hot as it would go.

Letting the water scald her body until her flesh was pink and raw, Caroline scrubbed her skin letting the heat consume her as a shrill ring sounded from outside the shower signaling that Elena was calling yet again to check if she was still coming tonight. Rolling her eyes, Caroline let the call go to voicemail as she grabbed for her shampoo lathering her hair until it was completely saturated and ready to rinse. If she was going out tonight, then she would take her fucking time. Screw Elena for trying to rush her when tonight was about making her feel better.

Thirty minutes later, Caroline climbed out of the shower opening her door as she jumped back in shock to see that Elena was on the other side of the door.

"Fucking shit Elena. You fucking scared me half to death. What ae you doing out there anyway? As you can see, I'm still getting ready." She exclaimed gesturing to her towel wrapped body.

"Just making sure that you don't bail on me this time." She claimed crossing her arms over her chest in a semi annoyed gesture.

"It was only the one time, you think you'd be over it by now." Caroline remarked as she passed Elena and headed towards her bedroom.

"You've ditched me five times in the past week and… Why haven't you unpacked any of your boxes yet? And when did you go shopping?" Elena asked looking at Caroline's new room that was still cluttered with boxes from what they could salvage from their old house.

This one was defiantly smaller which Caroline was thankful for seeing as how the fire only left her with a few things that had been stored away in the underground cellar. The rest of what she had in there was bags of new clothes that her mother had gotten for her after she had forced her on a shopping spree last week. Caroline hadn't really wanted to go, but her mother had insisted on buying what she wanted so Caroline obliged getting some rather questionable items that even her mother wouldn't approve of.

"Are we going to sit here and play twenty questions for the rest of the night or do we actually have some real plans?"

"As a matter of fact, we have a date."

"With the same guy? Cause I'm not down to be in a love triangle."

"Ew gross. No. I got us a date with brothers. "

"Brothers?"

"Yep. "Elena answered with a smile not bothering to tell her who these brothers were.

"I don't think a date will help me cope with my life changing experience, but I'll give it a shot."

"That's my girl. Now get dressed. We have a date to go on." Elena exclaimed as she walked out of Caroline's room to give her some privacy.

Going to the bags of clothes that she had got, Caroline searched through them until she had complied the perfect first date outfit. It was the begging of summer and if she was going on a date, she was going to look hot. Even if it didn't turn into something more.

Looking at her outfit in the mirror, Caroline smiled mischievously at her reflection as she took her outfit in. Her black bodysuit clung to every curve in her body as her high waisted jeans hit her hips just right the rips in her jeans exposing the fishnet stockings as she examined her black booties that she had paired with the outfit. She would look good if she just added makeup.

Going over to her vanity, Caroline pulled out her makeup and put on her silver hoop earrings to compliment her outfit. After giving herself a smoky eye and putting on her red lip gloss. Carline pulled her hair up into a high ponytail as Elena opened the door. Her mouth almost dropping to the floor. Damn. She didn't think she looked that good.

"Damn girl. Why can't you look this good all the time?"

"Can we go now?" Caroline said grabbing her purse and walking out of her room.

"Hey wait for me!" Elena exclaimed as she fought to catch up to Caroline.

Caroline whirled around stopping Elena dead in her tracks as she narrowed her eyes slightly at Elena. All she wanted was to have a great night. Why the fuck couldn't Elena understand that?

"What's your damage Care? I got us a date with two eligible bachelors and you're acting as if the experience is going to be excruciating." Elena asked making Caroline wonder what kind of teenager talked like that.

"You got it all wrong Elena. I'm just in a hurry to get out of this house. My mom has been extra protective lately and I can't stand it. I'm in the mood for some fun, so if you can do that for me than I'll be happy."

"We can sure as hell try." Elena said taking her hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. She really hated the gesture. She was tired of being comforted.

Pulling her hand away, Caroline grabbed her keys and gave Elena a fake smile hoping it would help her a little bit.

"Come on. We don't want to keep them waiting." Caroline said as she and Elena set out for their wild night out.

"Do you really want a crazy night out?" Elena asked as they made it out of Caroline's house to Elena's new car. Even though Elena was only fifteen her parents had trusted her to take it out occasionally so she could get used to it. Caroline's mother had not allowed her that luxury. Among other ones.

"What are you implying?" Caroline asked as Elena's eyes glistened with mischief.

"I think you should take her out for a spin unless you're too afraid to." Elena asked daring her to take the keys out of her outreached hand.

"You're not afraid I'll wreck your car? After all I don't have my license yet and you do have your permit at least."

"What I'm worried about is my best friend having a good time, so go ahead, take the keys, even throw in some donuts if you're not afraid to." Elena insisted making Caroline slightly uneasy.

"I think you should go ahead and drive first seeing as how my mother is inside and I don't want to be busted by the chief of police the moment I get into your drivers' seat."

"Good point, but I'm still speeding once we get passed your mom's surveillance."

"Sounds like a plan. Don't forget to roll down the windows, I love the wind blowing through my hair."

"Whatever you say queen." Elena said twirling around and going to her car as Caroline got into the passenger's side rolling down her window so she could smell the summer breeze.

Wind blew through her long blonde hair as Caroline soaked in the sun as it sunk in the horizon. Sometimes Caroline bitched about Mystic Falls, but she had to admit they had some beautiful sunsets.

"So, you never told me which brother I'm supposed to be on a date with?" Caroline asked looking at Elena who was now wearing sunglasses thanks to the harsh sun.

"Promise you won't freak out."

"Why would I freak out?"

"We have a date with the Salvatore brothers."

"The Salvatore brothers! Elena, why didn't you tell me before we were in the car?" Caroline exclaimed suddenly so nervous that she couldn't breathe. No. She wouldn't let this happen. Not again.

"Dude chill out. They're just guys."

"Yeah. Guys that are apart of the richest families in Mystic Falls and here I am looking like a dollar store whore." Caroline answered wanting nothing more than to cover her body. Why had she chosen this outfit? She was so stupid.

"Relax babe, you look bangin and Stefan will think so too." She replied her smile of mischief back on her face.

"Doubtful, but thanks for having confidence in me."

"You should have more confidence in yourself Care. I just hope this date proves that to you. Even if it is nothing more than having fun."

"I hope so too."

"Have fun girl. This night is for you and it wasn't easy to get this date."

"Please Damon Salvatore worships the ground you walk on. You have to know that, don't you?"

"Maybe. I don't see why though. He's gorgeous and any girl would be lucky to have him."

"But there's only one girl he wants."

"When did you become such a romantic?"

"I've always been a romantic. You just don't notice it most of the time."

"Well hopefully that translate to tonight. Ah. Here we are."

Looking up, Caroline saw that they were at the Salvatore boarding house. Hopefully their parents weren't around to see how she looked.

"Are we seriously just hanging out at their house? Are you sure this is a date?"

"I may have kept a few details about this date from you. Sorry."

"What details?"

"Their parents may be out of town and I may have told your mother that you were staying at my house so we can crash at their house instead."

"Elena? Are you insane? We hardly know these people and I didn't bring anything that remotely relates to having a sleep over."

"Lucky for you, I did. Now come on let's go."

"What if I feel uncomfortable?" Caroline asked suddenly feeling self-consequence.

"Then we'll bail and have a real sleepover at my place. Now come on. Let's go have some fun. After all what sounds better than having a night of luxury in a place that looks like a mansion."

"I think mansions are bigger." Caroline replied.

"Well this house has about seven bedrooms in it, so you decide whether or not that's true. Now come on. Let's go have fun."

Hoping out of her car, Elena went to her trunk to get their stuff as Caroline got out and took in the scene of the Salvatore boarding house. She had to admit it was the most extravagant house she had ever been to. It made her outfit seem pale in comparison.

"Would you relax you look fantastic and there's no one here to judge you besides Stefan and Damon and trust me they won't say shit about your outfit. Now come on, I've been looking forward to this all day. You wanted fun and I'm here to deliver it to you."

"Better be worth it, because if my mom finds out where I'm really at I'll hold you personally responsible."

"Whatever. If tonight ends in, you finally letting lose then it'll be all worth it." Elena said as they stopped at the front door.

Knocking on the front door, the girls waited patiently before the door swung open and Damon Salvatore answered the door looking Elena up and down with a mischievous smile.

"Hey Elena. Glad you guys can make it."

"Glad that we can be here. Where's Stefan?" Elena asked looking around.

"He's setting up the PlayStation so we can do whatever you guys want to. Whether it be play video games or watch some Netflix…."

"Are you seriously suggesting that we Netflix and chill?" Elena implied wiggling her eyebrows in a semi awkward gesture.

"If that's what you're down for." Damon replied, his eyes roaming over the curves of her body.

Clearing her throat to help deal with her awkwardness, Damon and Elena turned their attention to her as if they had barely noticed that she was there as Elena's cheeks flushed pink. Looks like Damon wasn't the only one with a crush.

"What's taking you guys so long… Oh, Hey Caroline." Stefan said coming into the foyer.

No matter how many times Caroline saw Stefan, it was as if she were seeing him for the first time. His cropped short hair was styled today as his piercing green eyes boarded into hers. He leaned against the wall showing off his athletic build as Caroline fought the urge to trace her hands on those perfectly sculpted cheek bones. And with surprise, she noticed that Stefan was looking back at her too. She wondered what he saw.

"Hey." She whispered shyly as she ran her finger through her hair. She hoped it wasn't too frizzy after her shower.

"Is everything all set up?" Damon asked breaking the awkward silence. Apparently, this was a first for them too.

"Yeah all that's left to do is grab some snacks and then we can do whatever the ladies want."

"Sounds like a plan. Come on Damon, you could help me make the popcorn."

"Sounds great. Hey Stefan, can you and Caroline go down to the basement and get the drinks? Whatever you guys want will be fine."

"Whatever you say brother." Stefan answered as he moved closer to her. "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Lead the way."

Following Stefan, Caroline took in the whole house and its beauty as she followed Stefan downstairs where he lifted up the fridge door and rummaged through it looking for specific things to take upstairs.

"How are you holding up?" He said out of the blue.

"Excuse me?" She asked suddenly confused.

"I heard about your dad. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Caroline wished she could say something snarky back at him. She wished she could avoid it all together. Unfortunately, it was the first time she ever really wanted to talk about what had happened to her dad with anyone. Maybe it was because she hardly knew him and there was no emotional connection as of yet. Sometimes all people really needed was a stranger to listen to them.

"Thank you. And to answer your question, I'm putting up a good front but sometimes I just really miss my dad."

"I get it. Sometimes all people want to see is you in your happy moments. No one really wants to deal with you when your sad. It's kind of tragic when you think about it."

"Wow. Who knew Stefan Salvatore most popular guy in school would have a cynical side?" Caroline side a little bit of teasing in the undertone of her voice.

"Luckily there's a lot of things about me that people don't know. I like to keep a mysterious air around me even if it fails at times."

"Well obviously it works for some people. I don't know a single thing about you."

"To be fair we don't hang out in the same social circles."

"I don't see why not after all Damon and Elena hang out all the time."

"That's because Damon and Elena want to bone each other, but for some reason they're always too stubborn to get together."

"We should do some thing about that. Get them to admit their feelings for each other so we can stop dealing with the sexual tension in the room."

"I think we should let that happen naturally. After all you can't force a relationship between two people. They have to come to that conscientious by themselves."

"I guess you're right. We should probably get up there though, God knows that Damon and Elena are probably wondering where we went by now."

"Or they're sucking face by this point. What did you get for us to drink?"

"Well I got some soda for us to start off tame and then I got some alcohol for us just in case we want to do some drinking games while we watch Netflix. It might make it more interesting for us. I know you wanted to have a fun night, but sometimes me and my brother can be really boring."

"If it makes you feel better tonight will probably be more fun then I've had in weeks, so you're already doing a great job."

"I'm glad I can make you feel a little bit better even if it is for a little while."

Handing her a soda of her own, Stefan popped the top of his off as he raised his can in a sort of toast. It was strange, but she went along with it anyway.

"To having fun and lifting your sprits even if it is just for a little while."

She clicked her can to his as his smile met her own.

"To having fun." She proclaimed takin a swig from her soda as they went upstairs to check on Damon and Elena's progress.

A shrill rang broke the silence between Klaus and Caroline as he looked down at his cellphone and the words mom flashed across the screen making Caroline's mouth run dry. It was one in the morning. They had been talking for hours and had forgotten about the time. Too lost in their stories to notice the time.

"Shit." He whispered as Caroline checked her phone.

No messages were on her phone making Caroline frown. She guessed her mom was working late yet again and hadn't noticed that Caroline had been out this long.

"Hey mom. I'm sorry we lost track of time." He answered clenching his jaw. "We'll talk about this later. I'll see you when I get home. Thank you for taking care of Hope for me. I'm sorry I missed putting her to bed. Alright. Love you, bye."

"I'm sorry you missed spending time with your daughter because of me. I didn't notice the time."

"We both lost track of time. We'll have to resume these stories later. Let's get you home."

Caroline nodded as the car filled with a comfortable silence. They both had opened up a lot to each other tonight and their stories we're only beginning She had to admit that while it had been hard discussing her and Stefan's relationship, it had lifted a huge weight off her shoulders that she hadn't realized was even there. She was just glad that Klaus had chose to listen instead of leaving her in the dust. Needless to say, their day with each other had ended a lot different than what she had internally thought it would and that had pleased her.

Putting his car in park, Caroline looked at her empty house where Lexi was asleep and she would be so to, but first she looked at Klaus giving him yet another smile as her hand touched his.

"Thank you for today, I don't know how I would have gotten through it without you."

"You would have found a way. You just have to believe in yourself more."

"Do you think the list is posted yet?"

"Probably not. Elena would have probably blown up your phone by now if it was."

"Well hopefully it's some good news." He said as her phone chimed with an incoming message. "Who's texting you this late?"

"Speaking of the devil, she just texted me the list of people who made it in the show." Caroline answered as her face dropped slightly. She couldn't believe this was happening.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Klaus asked as Caroline's eyes widened.

"Our name's we're on the list. We're in the show."


	6. Chapter 6

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 6

Staring hard at her ceiling Caroline contemplated what she had ever done to make her life so hard. It wasn't enough that her father had died, she hardly saw her mother, her ex-boyfriend had cheated on her with her sister. Her best friend acted like a bitch to her, and she had lost whatever resembled a relationship with Klaus, but now she had to deal with her ultimate fear. Performing in front of an audience of people who didn't think she was the least bit relevant/ And why should they? No one owed her anything. Not even her flesh and blood.

Sighing, Caroline turned her head to her phone that had been chiming all and picked it up expecting most of them to be from Elena since she had never responded to her text last night, but surprisingly Elena wasn't the only one texting her. She had three text from Elena, two from Klaus and surprisingly one from both Stefan and Lexi. Well she was going to last.

'Aren't you excited for all of us to compete in this show. We need to get together and strategize. Call me when you can,' Elena.

'So how did your time with Klaus go. Come on girls give me the details.' Elena.

'Caroline Elizabeth Forbes, if you don't answer me soon, I'll have no choice but to show up at your doorstep, but seriously. Let me know you're alive. Okay?' Elena.

. 'Made it home safely. Just thought I'd let you know. Anyway, I hope the rest of your night goes great. I'll see you at school "Klaus.

'Hey, I know this is last minute and you can say no if you want to, but did you maybe want to grab dinner and see a movie tonight. Freya is taking Hope for the night and I really don't feel like staying at home' Klaus.

'Can we talk?' Stefan.

'Mom is in an abnormally good mood, you know what that means, run while you still have the chance' Lexi.

Fuck.

Grabbing her phone, Caroline responded to her text while getting dressed for this semi awful breakfast that she was going to go through.

'Sorry fell asleep after I got home from Klaus's house last night, but I would really love it if you came over pronto. Mom's in a good mood and you know what that means.' she texted Elena moving on to Klaus's text.

'Sounds like a great idea I defiantly need a night out lol. I'll see you in school and we'll talk about it more'

Taking in a deep breath she moved on to Stefan's text contemplating. Did she really want to talk to him?

''Why should I?'

Walking down the stairs, Caroline's phone chimed three times signaling some new texts messages as she went into the kitchen and sat down at the table where Lexi and her mother were eating their breakfast. Almost entirely too silent.

"Good morning." Her mother said cheerful.

"Why are you so cheerful this morning?" Caroline asked taking a seat at the table where her mother served her some breakfast.

"Can't I just want a nice breakfast with both my daughters? It's been a while since we've done this, and I thought it would be a fantastic idea so we could all catch up."

"Mom, we both know that you only make breakfast when something is up. Why don't you just cut the bullshit and tell us what's up?" Lexi asked a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Language." Her mother warned as Lexi gave her an eyeroll.

"Sorry, but we do have the right to know if you're doing something that affects us."

Sighing, their mother put down the plate that she had been holding and sat down taking in both as she prepared herself for what she was about to say.

"I've been trying to find a way to tell you girls this since the moment it happened, but nothing I ever come up with sounds right, so I'm just going to come out and say it. I've started seeing someone."

Lexi and Caroline exchanged a holy shit look with each other as Lexi continued the conversation. Thank God because Caroline hadn't fully processed what her mother had said yet. It had only been two year since their dad had died. How could she have moved on so fast?

"Who's the guy?" Lexi asked.

"He's a guy in my unit. He's nice and has two kids of his own. I think you guys will like him."

"What about dad?" Caroline asked not realizing that she had voiced that question out loud.

"What about him honey?" her mom asked as the door swung wide open revealing a very flustered Elena.

"Good morning Forbes family, what are we talking about this morning?" Elena asked as Caroline's phone buzzed signaling a few more messages.

'Please Caroline, I know what happened between us yesterday was intense, but I would like to talk about it with you if you let me. No rush, but I think we should at least settle a few issues between us.'

'Fine. Meet me at lunch and we'll talk about it.' She answered as she stuffed her phone in her pocket and stood up pushing in her chair.

"I'm going to grab my stuff before we go." She said not waiting for her mother's reply as she tried to move on with her life.

"What's going on with you?" Elena asked as they stopped at the stoplight waiting for it to turn green.

"What do you mean?" she asked looking out the window as kids crossed the walkway trying to get to school as fast as their legs could carry them.

"You've been silent ever since we left your house and from the scene, I walked in on this morning I know you have shit to tell me, so go ahead and tell me what's happening before you implode all over my leather seats."

"There's so many things wrong I don't even know where to start."

"Let's start at what I walked in on. What's going on there?"

"Mom's dating someone."

"Shut the fuck up. No way. What do you think about that?"

"Honestly, I feel like it's too soon. It's only been two years since my father died and I'm still trying to process his death and here's my mom acting as if they just broke up or something. Like does she really need someone in her life to be happy. Aren't me and Lexi enough?"

"I hate to break it to you Care, but sometimes people just want to get laid. Maybe your mom is just having fun and she's telling you that they're dating to save face."

"Gross, I don't want to think about my mom having sex with guys."

"To be fair you've had a friend with benefits, so you have no room to judge."

"I'm not judging, I'm just saying I don't want to think about my mother sleeping with other dudes. It's kind of gross. Can we talk about something else please?"

"Fine. Tell me what happened last night with Klaus."

"It's kind of a long story." Caroline answered reluctantly looking away from Elena.

"Ah come on Caroline, you got to give me something for leaving me hanging last night."

"Fine if you really want the tea, he took me back to his house, I met some of his family including his daughter, and then we talked about our exes for the rest of the night."

"You guys seriously talked about your exes after what happened between you and Stefan yesterday?"

"What happened with Stefan was the reason we ended up talking about our exes."

"That must have been awkward."

"Actually, it helped me a lot. I think it even helped him too."

"Whatever you say Care, I just hope your being cautious with this one. You don't want to scare him off so soon."

"Well it turns out I don't have to worry about that, because we decided to just be friends."

"What? Caroline, you meet a hot, funny guy who just so happens to like you and you decide to just be friends? Why would you do that?"

"Maybe because Stefan is back, and I still have shit to figure out with him. I can't lead two guys on at the same time Elena. It's not fair to them."

"You know what I don't get."

"What?"

"Why is it that a guy can play the field and everyone's okay with it, but when a girl does it, we get slut shammed. How is that fair? You should be able to go on dates with both with no real consequences. Adults go on dates all the time with no issues. Why can't you?"

"Are you suggesting that I date Klaus and Stefan at the same time?"

"What I'm trying to say is that you should focus on having fun your senior year instead of being stuck in a serious relationship. We'll be in college next year and you don't want to go into it with any obligations towards your relationships."

"Are you trying to tell me that I can't have a serious relationship going into college?"

"I'm not trying to tell you anything Caroline. You can do whatever you want. I just want you to be cautious with whatever you decide. Having a relationship going into college doesn't always work out and I don't want you to be disappointed by the outcome."

"And what do you think the outcome will be?"

"I don't know Caroline, you got so emotionally invested in Stefan for him to cheat on you and with Klaus you don't even know if he's going to attend college. You don't know the full situation with him and his baby mama, and you have to realize that no matter how important Klaus is to you, you'll always come second to his kid and I don't want you to get hurt because of that. You're young. Can you really see yourself playing mommy and giving up your dreams on going to university? Have you even begun to fill out those applications for Emerson, Berkley, or Cornell?"

"No. I still haven't told my mom that I want to go to a school out of state. That and I've added a few more to my list. I'm actually going to apply to the university of Washington also."

"Damn girl. Trying to get as far away from Virginia as possible?"

"Possibly, but I need time to think about it. We still have a while to fill out applications and who knows what schools will be interested in me as well."

"Look Caroline, I know it seems like I'm overstepping here, but I really think that you should at least wait a year or two before trying again. That way you'll be far away from here and attending the college of your dreams. Take care of you before you decide to love and care for someone else, because it may sound cliché, but you can't love someone unless you love yourself."

"What makes you think I don't love myself?"

"Call it a feeling."

"Describe it."

"Ever since your dad died, you lost a part of yourself, you let Stefan take advantage of that, and you never really dealt with it on your own terms. What I'm saying is I think it's a good idea to start opening to your therapist about topics that you don't want to discuss. It's what she's there for. Take advantage of that and fix yourself before you try to fix everyone else."

"I don't try to fix people."

"Please Caroline. You're a fixer. You always have been, but you need to learn there are some people you can't fix."

"What if I'm one of those people?"

"I hope to God you come out of it Caroline. You deserve way better than the hand you've been dealt. I just pray to God that one day you come out of this."

"I'm doing just fine on my own, bit if it gives you sound of mine, I'll try harder. I'll even talk about all this shit with my therapist when I see her tomorrow. Maybe she can give a fresh perspective to this situation."

"Possibly, but for now let's get through this day." Elena smiled encouragingly as she pulled into the school parking lot.

Grabbing her backpack, Caroline exited Elena's car as she looked at the school, taking in a deep breath and following Elena in. She didn't know what today held for her, but she knew for sure that it would be an interesting day.

Unfortunately for her, the fates were not on her side for that day as her and Elena turned a corner and she stopped dead in her tracks. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Lingering by his locker, Klaus and Camille o Connell stood there laughing at some joke Klaus was telling as she touched his arm in a flirtatious manner. No way. Cami couldn't like Klaus. How the hell was she supposed to compete with a girl like that.

"Caroline?" Elena asked beside her as she tried to hold back her tears.

"I have to go."

"Caroline."

"I'll see you later."

She wasn't sure if Elena had called after her or not, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway, because Caroline wasn't listening. The only thought in her head was that she had to get as far away from Klaus as possible.

Moving down the hallway, Caroline's gaze focused on Stefan as she quickly made her way to him pulling him from his friends and taking him out of the school. She didn't know why he had let her do this, but she didn't care. She had someone who wanted her right now and that was all that mattered to her.

"Caroline, what's going on?" He asked as she shoved him against the wall kissing him.

"Don't talk. I just really need this right now." She answered kissing him again. He seemed pretty into it until he pulled away a second later leaving her somewhat reeling.

"As much as I enjoy kissing you Caroline. It's obvious to me that you're upset right now. Tell me what's going on."

"What part of I don't want to talk don't you understand?"

"Fine. You don't have to talk if you don't want to, but I'm going to go grab a coffee before class. Do you want to join me?"

"That's not the type of interaction I wanted to have, but right now I'll take whatever I can get."

"So, are you going to tell me what that kiss was about?" Stefan asked as they walked towards his Karmann Coupe.

"I thought you said I didn't have to talk to you if I don't want to?"

"You don't I'm just trying to make conversation. If I remember correctly, I did tell you I wanted to talk to you today."

"Then talk, no one's stopping you." Caroline snapped as she pulled on the car handle and got into Stefan's car waiting for him to start driving.

Sighing, Stefan got in his car and started the ignition letting the silence flow between them as they drove to the nearest Starbucks that Stefan could find.

"I thought you hated Starbucks?" she asked giving him her best side eye.

"I still do, but there is this fun trend going around that I would love to try."

"Since when are you the type of person who participates in trends?"

"Since when are you the person who passes on an opportunity to have a little clean fun?"

"I guess you don't know me as well as you thought you did." She answered mockingly.

"No. I guess not, but you need to have fun, and this is a good way to do it."

"You have an odd definition of the term fun."

"You of all people should know that. Do you remember the first night we actually hung out together?"

"How could I ever forget? It was one of the best nights of my life."

Stefan smiled and leaned in for a kiss before static came from the speakers startling them both out of their trance as Stefan cleared his throat obviously embarrassed for the momentary lapse in judgement. What the hell was wrong with her? She shouldn't be giving Stefan the time of day much less sitting in the car with him about to make out. She wanted to get over Stefan not get under him.

"Welcome to Starbucks, how may I help you?"

"Yeah I was wondering if I could get what the person in front of me ordered."

"Ugh, sure that'll be 12:70." The woman answered as Stefan pulled forward wincing slightly.

"Thank you." Stefan said to the woman as he moved forward in the line. "When did Starbucks get so expensive?"

"They've always been expensive. You just never really paid attention to the value of things."

"Ouch. Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? I mean you were all over me earlier and now you're attacking me at every turn. What's up with that Caroline?"

"I guess I'm just having one of my off days. So sorry if it's a little inconvenient for you."

"Alright enough with the bullshit Caroline. Tell me what's up or get the fuck out. I'm not dealing with this middle school bullshit."

"Why do you care? You didn't before, so why start being the good guy now?"

"Because I'm trying to be a better person Caroline. God knows you aren't making it easy."

"Why do you care what I think of you? When we were together, you never seemed to care at all, so what changed? What made you want to become a better person, because I'm dying to know."

"You did."

"What? That makes no sense. After the shit that went down between us and Lexi, you treated me like shit. Hell, you even treated her like shit, so why did that make you change?"

"Truth be told when I spent the summer with my mother, she let me in on how much I fucked up. She read me the right act and yeah it took me a while to listen to her words but losing you and Lexi really showed me how much of an asshole I was. I want to be better Caroline, but I can't be better if I'm stuck in the past. I can't be better if people just see me as the person I once was. I've apologized to you as much as I can. What happens next is up to you?"

"I'm still deciding if I can trust you or not Stefan. It's not going to be that easy and I'm sorry if that bothers you, but I'm not to that point yet. But I'm willing to try if you're willing to put in the effort."

"That's all I ask. Now let's see how nasty these drinks taste."

"Hater." She teased as he rolled down the window to get their drinks.

"What the hell are these?" Stefan asked confused at what he was holding.

"It looks like we got the dragon drink and a matcha green tea frappe."

"They sound disgusting."

"They're actually pretty good. You should give them a try before dissing them."

"Fine." He said giving the matcha a try and made a disgusted face. "Just what I thought disgusting."

"At least try the dragon drink."

"What's in it?"

"Dragon fruit and coconut milk."

"If I give this a shot, will you tell what the hell is going on with you?"

"I guess I owe you at least that much."

Taking a sip, Stefan put it back in his cup holder and pulled into a parking space as he flipped off the car and turned to her waiting to see what she would say.

"So, tell me what's going on?"

"I saw Klaus and Camille flirting."

"Ah. I see. Why did it bother you so much?"

"I guess you could say I'm jealous even though I have no right to be. It's not like I'm his girlfriend or anything."

"I take it that I had something to do with that."

"We both agreed that we both have to work on ourselves before we even think about getting into a relationship. And seeing how I reacted to what I saw, I think I agree with this a little bit more."

"But is it really what you want?"

"No, but it is what I need."

"What do you think you need?"

"To fix whatever is broken inside of me."

"I don't think you're broken,"

"How would you know? You never bothered to check on me after we broke up."

"Let's just say that I have a feeling. Now what are you going to do about the Klaus situation?"

"Who says I'm going to do anything about it? It was just an overreaction."

"That's your problem than."

"Overreacting?"

"No. Thinking that every feeling you've ever had is an overreaction. If you felt jealousy when you saw Klaus and Camille than you'll always feel that way until you confront your feelings about it. I think you should talk to him about it."

"Are you crazy? I can't talk to Klaus about feeling jealous of him and Cami. I'd be a hypocrite than. After all he did caught us sleeping together."

"Do you regret it?" Stefan asked. His voice taking a serious tone.

"Regret what?"

"Sleeping with me?"

Caroline bit on her lip trying to figure out how she was going to say this without hurting Stefan's feelings, but she knew she couldn't so she just went for it, because she would rather be honest than hide the truth from anyone.

"There's no easy way to say this Stefan, but what happened between us that day was a mistake. I should have never done that when I knew that we were over. There's no way we could go back to the way we were, and I think we both know that. I want to move on, and I can't do that by making the same mistakes I made several months ago."

"So, I take it that kiss was also a mistake?"

"It was a reaction to seeing Klaus and Camille and it was wrong for me to do that. I'm sorry."

"We all make mistakes Caroline. God knows I've made a few."

"Thank you for understanding and for the Starbucks. Talking to someone really made me have clarity on the situation."

"Are you going to talk to him about it?"

"I know you want me to, but I don't think I'm ready to get into my feelings for him yet. I don't want to force anything. I've done that before, and I don't want to do it again."

"Can I give you some advice?"

"If you must."

"I think that we're too young to be thinking about any serious relationships. Friends or not. It's high school, we should be having fun. Enjoying our senior year before we go our separate ways. So, do what you want, because you may never get the chance again."

Caroline snickered as Stefan looked at her confused.

"You sound like Elena."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"

"Depends on your perception of it, but she said something similar to me this morning."

"Then maybe you should take the advice."

"I'll think about it."

"As long as you're happy. That's all that matters."

"The happiness of others matters too Stefan. A relationship is more than one person after all."

"I'm not saying I disagree with that but sometimes it's good to put yourself before others. I know you have a hard time understanding that now. But maybe someday soon you'll get it."

Glancing down at the clock, Caroline sighed, they had been out and about for almost twenty minutes and they should probably head back to class before they called her mother for truancy.

"We should probably head back."

"I think you're right. God knows your mother would have my head if she figured out that I kept you from first period."

"You're still afraid of my mom?" she asked with a teasing smile. She could still remember when he met her mother for the first time.

"Have you met your mother? She's a terrifying person. I still remember the night that we met."

"I remember it as if it were yesterday." She asked with a smile as she went back to the night her and Stefan met.

"Did you guys finally decide on a movie?" Stefan asked looking at Damon and Elena confused as Caroline noticed they had both put their coats on. Had things gone so wrong between them when her and Stefan were gone?

"What's going on here?" Caroline asked crossing her arms.

"Damon got a text from Enzo saying that the carnival was in town and it sounded way more fun than just sitting here watching movies all night. Are you guys down to go?"

"Might be fun. Did you want to go?" Stefan asked Caroline.

"Sure. I could use a little fun after all the shit I've been through recently."

"That's my girl." Elena smiled as she hugged her. "You and Stefan go get some alcohol for some added fun and we'll all pile in Damon's car and head out."

"How are we going to sneak it in? Security is pretty tight there."

"We'll keep it in the car and if things get boring than we'll have some fun in the parking lot."

"Sounds good to me. I'll go get the bottles." She said starting as Stefan reached out a hand and gently grasped her arm.

"My backpack is in the kitchen. Grab it and hide the bottles in there incase we get stopped by a cop or something."

"Smart move." She replied as she went to where his backpack was grabbing it so she could get their liquor so they could go. She just hoped that this carnival was worth it.

"We should split up." Damon suggested as Stefan and Caroline looked at him wondering why he had made that suggestion before registering that it was probably to get some alone time with Elena.

"Sure. Stefan and I can do a few things together while you and Elena do the same. I don't see why we all have to be together for the whole carnival." Caroline encouraged as Damon gave her a thankful smile.

"So, what should we do first?" Stefan had asked shuffling his feet on the asphalt when Damon and Elena had departed.

"I don't know about you, but I always crave funnel cake when I'm at summer carnivals."

"I take it you go to a lot of carnivals."

"Yeah. Or at least I used to. It was kind of mine and my dad's thing before he passed. He used to love these kinds of things. I swear he was a kid at heart most days."

"So, what kind of fair do you like the most?"

"Oh, definitely the fall ones. I haven't been to one in a while, but God knows how much I love them."

"Maybe I'll take you to one someday/"

"Maybe I'll let you." She smiled as he grinned at her giving her a flirty look.

"Let's go get you your Funnel cake." He said gesturing her forward as she followed him feeling like maybe this night wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Oh, yes, get into my mouth." Caroline moaned as she savored the funnel cake in her mouth as Stefan snickered making Caroline blush. Maybe she should really watch what came out of her mouth whenever she was around Stefan. She didn't want to seem like a raunchy person the first time they were ever really hanging out.

"Is this your usual reaction to funnel cake?"

"Only for the really good ones." She smiled as she pushed over the basket that contained her funnel cake so he could try a piece.

"Are you seriously letting me try your funnel cake?"

"If you didn't want some all you had to do was say no."

"It's not the fact that I don't want some, it's the fact that you're letting me eat your food. Some people wouldn't do that for a person they hardly know."

"Call it an exchange of sorts. I'm letting you touch my food, because you supplied the booze. It's only fair that you get something in return."

"I already got something in return."

"And what was that?"

"Time with one of the most gorgeous girls I've ever laid eyes on."

"Do you say that to every girl you take out?"

"Only the ones I think are cute."

"You think I'm cute?"

"Have you seen yourself? Of course, I think your cute. Who wouldn't?"

"You'd be surprised. A lot of people think I'm not so cute."

"A lot of people are crazy."

"Thanks for the compliment." She smiled.

"No problem. Do you want to go on the Ferris wheel?"

"Sure. I need to digest my food some before we get on any other ride."

"Sounds like a plan. "he smiled as he grabbed her hand and led her to the Ferris wheel.

Stefan's lips clashed with hers as they devoured each other with kisses that made her feel as high as the Ferris wheel. She wasn't sure how the hell this had happened. One minute they were causally talking about life and school and the next he was kissing her. Like really kissing her. This was no childish middle school kiss that she had experienced so many times. This was a real kiss. A kiss that people only experienced in books or movies. A kiss that people remembered. This was a kiss and she wanted to keep on kissing him. She wanted more than just kisses. Fort the first-time in a while she felt more just despair and she was living for it. She wanted more of it. More of him. But how?

Breaking the kiss, Stefan pulled away leaving her shocked and reeling as he leaned back in her seat and the Ferris wheel continued. It had been paused for a while and now it had chosen to finally work as they finally made it down to the bottom and the operator pulled their door open gesturing for them to get out as Caroline frowned. Why the hell were good moments over so soon?

"What do you want to do next?" Stefan asked casually as if their kiss hadn't happened.

"Maybe we should go find Elena and Damon."

"Are you sure? We might find them in a situation that will make us uncomfortable."

"True. Alright. What did you want to do?"

"We could play a game or two or we could go on another ride if you wanted."

Caroline was just about to answer his question when she caught sight of something truly horrifying. No more than twenty feet in front of her was her mother. Shit. What the fuck was she doing here? Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Is something wrong?" Stefan asked with concern.

"We need to get out of here now."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"My mom's here…."

"Caroline?" her mother asked as Stefan and her turned busted in the act. Shit. She was in so much trouble.

"Mom?" she asked as if she were surprised to see her there and she was. Why the hell wasn't she at work? She normally would be by now.

"What are you doing here?" they said in unison as Stefan shuffled his feet in the gravel obviously uncomfortable. Well this had surely killed whatever mood they had been in.

"Elena and I were bored at the house, so we came to the carnival and met up with Stefan and Damon. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but we were having so much fun that it slipped my mind. I'm sorry mom it won't happen again." She responded amazed about how easy the lie slipped from her lips.

"It better not Caroline. You know how I feel about not knowing where you are." She said seeming more worried than pissed off.

"I know mom I'm sorry."

"We'll talk about it in the morning. For now, just enjoy the rest of your night, and you better keep an eye on my daughter." She warned looking at Stefan with accusing eyes. "I'm trusting you to do the right thing and act like a proper gentleman to my daughter. Remember I know every parent in Mystic Falls and I'm not afraid to contact yours if you hurt my child in any way."

"Mom." Caroline groaned feeling more mortified than she ever had before. Why the hell did her mother have to be so protective?

"I'll take care of her Sheriff Forbes. I promise."

"You better." She warned looking between the two of them suspiciously.

"Why are you here mom?" she asked taking her mom aback.

"Private police business. Nothing to worry about though. I'll let you two kids get back to it and remember what I said. "

"Will do." She answered smiling as her mother pulled her into a hug.

"I love you." Her mother said holding her tighter.

"I love you too, mom." She said as her mom squeezed her arm in a loving gesture and walked away making her wonder what the hell was going to happen next.

"Your mom seems…. intense." Stefan said as they sat in the back of the car later waiting for Damon and Elena to finish up so they could go home for the night as they drank a bottle of beer. The fair was fun, but she was ready to go home.

"She's just overprotective. Ever since my dad died, my sister and I are the only ones she has left, so it makes sense."

"It's understandable. I wouldn't want to cross her though. She got me scared worse than my parents ever could."

Caroline laughed taking a sip of her drink as she responded. "It's one of her many talents, so don't be embarrassed. I'm convinced she terrifies everyone."

His eyes widened slightly as if surprised by something he saw outside, before he could even stop her from looking, she turned around and her mouth almost dropping down to the floor. What the hell was she seeing?

Here mother and a man she barely knew were intertwined kissing each other as Caroline sucked in a deep breath. Her mother, someone she thought she could trust, had lied to her. Why the hell had she done that? Why didn't she just tell her that she was on a date? And why hadn't she told her she was trying to move on so quickly? Hadn't her dad just recently died? Anger rose up in her as she turned back to Stefan, disgust filling her features.

"Caroline?"

"I need to get out of here. I-I can't see this."

"Elena and Damon are still doing things Caroline. If I rush them Damon will surely snap at me."

"Then distract me, because if I keep seeing that shit. I'll snap. I'll "

Before she could finish her sentence, Stefan closed the distance between their lips, kissing her for the second time that night. Something about it seemed more urgent than the time before as her back hit the seat as he stretched out on top of her surprising her with the want that she could feel behind his jeans. Damn. Could this night get any more eventful? Was she really going to lose her virginity in the back seat of a car?

A knock on the window forced them to pull apart. A fierce blush spreading to her cheeks as she saw Elena laughing her ass off outside as Damon grinned beside her. Those fucking assholes couldn't have given them fifteen more minutes to see where the hell this would have gone. What the hell.

"Having fun in here?" Elena laughed climbing into the front seat as Damon got into the driver's side ready to finally take them home. Rotten timing that was for sure.

"We were." She answered bitterly as Damon started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Someone's in a bad mood. What happened?"

"I'll tell you about it when we get back to the house."

"Got you. Do you guys have any ice cream?" Elena asked looking between him and Stefan.

"Of course." Damon scoffed as a smile crossed Elena's lips. She thought ice cream solved any problem. Caroline was not that easily satisfied. She wondered what it was like having problems that were so easy to solve.

"Spectacular. Me and Caroline can talk over a bowl of ice cream and you guys can make a fort in the living room and we can watch movies for the rest of the night until we leave in the morning.

"Sounds good to me." Stefan said grabbing Caroline's hand and squeezing it reassuringly making her smile wondering how this night was going to end for her.

"Caroline." A voice said in the dark as it startled her awake. Elena slept on the couch beside her as Damon slept on the floor blankets covering his head as Caroline sat up to see Stefan kneeling beside her obviously wide awake despite how late it was.

"What's wrong?" She whispered careful not to wake Damon and Elena. They all had quite the night and she didn't want to disturb them.

"Nothing. I just wanted to show you something. Are you down to end this night with something spectacular?"

"More spectacular than Elena's midnight ice cream and talk session."

"Infinitely more spectacular. Now come on, follow me."

Feeling giddy with excitement, Caroline took Stefan's hand as he led her through the house and up to the roof as she wondered what the hell, they were doing up here.

"What's going on here?"

"I guess you'll just have to sit down beside me and find out."

"Promise you won't push me off the roof to my untimely demise."

"I promise. Now come on. Take a seat."

Sitting down beside him, she snuggled closer to him as he wrapped his arms around her pulling her closer as she leaned her head on his shoulder breathing him in feeling a strange sense of calm in her otherwise chaotic world. She liked this feeling. She wished she could have it more often. Maybe with him she could.

"Why did you ask me up here?" she asked her eyelids drooping slightly she would be lying if she said that she wasn't tired.

"This is my favorite place to sit and watch the sunrise. It's the only sense of clam that I have in this crazy world and I thought after the night you had you might enjoy it."

"Thank you for being so considerate and thank you for tonight. I actually really enjoyed myself."

"I'm glad." He smiled as the sun illuminated his face as she turned to see the sun rise. It really was beautiful.

"I wish I could have more nights like this." She whispered mesmerized.

"Maybe we could." He whispered his mouth mere inches from hers as she closed the space between them getting lost in each other as they laid down on the roof with no intention of getting interrupted this time. Their bodies intertwined with each other as she felt on top of the world for the first time in her life hoping that this feeling would never end.


	7. Chapter 7

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 7

Author's note: Hey guys, I'm back with another Dreams and Happy Places chapter. This has definitely been one of my favorite stories to write however this chapter will be shorter, because the next several chapters will be long ones so they'll definitely take some time, but I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I can't wait for you to see my next ones. Happy reading.

"I need your help." Elena said as she placed her lunch tray down beside her as Caroline and Klaus exchanged looks wondering what the hell was going on. She had been planning on talking to Klaus about what had happened that morning, but as it turned out Elena had other plans.

"What's going on?"

"Did you not go to homeroom this morning? They announced the themes for homecoming week and of course homecoming court." She said smiling broadly.

"Did you get nominated?" Caroline asked smiling broadly at her. This was kind of exciting.

"Of course. Along with a couple of other people of course."

"Well you must catch me up with the news, I wasn't in home room today, so I didn't hear the announcements."

"Well, because you were playing hooky you missed almost all the announcements and they're the most important ones. Well of course you know I was nominated for homecoming queen…."

"Who else got nominated?"

"Well me of course and then Bonnie Bennett, Klaus's sister Rebekah got nominated…."

"Isn't she a junior?"

"Well yeah, but juniors can get nominated too. This isn't prom."

"Who else?"

"Vicki Donavan, which is kind of weird of you ask me, but I guess she's pretty enough to be considered. Anyway, the last nominee is Camille. Obviously, she'll win, but I'm going to put up a good fight."

"Of course, she is." Caroline muttered sounding as jealous as she felt. "Who got nominated for king?"

"Now this year has got to be the best homecoming king nominations ever. Do you want to tell her the good news Klaus?"

"I got nominated." Klaus answered smiling broadly.

"Oh my God. That's great congratulations. Who got nominated with you?" she asked but before Elena could answer a voice behind them interrupted their conversation.

"Mind if I sit with you guys?" Stefan asked looking at Caroline rather than Elena and Klaus.

"Wouldn't you rather sit with your football buddies?" Elena asked with a bitter smile on her face.

"I think I'd like a change of pace today if it's okay with you."

"Well no ones stopping you." Elena answered giving him her best fake smile.

"Thank you." He said sitting down making the table suddenly feel discombobulated.

"Congratulations by the way." Elena said with a smile.

"On what?"

"We're you not in first period?" Elena asked looking between the two of them. Shit. She was so screwed.

"No. I had a personal matter to attend to."

"Wow, what are the odds that both you and Caroline missed first period. Unless…Oh my God were you two together?" Elena asked oblivious dammit so much for avoiding the subject all together. She might as well come clean now before things got worse.

"Stefan invited me out for coffee this morning and since we had things to talk about and work through, I accepted. Nothing more to it than that." She answered omitting the fact that she had kissed him earlier, because she was jealous of Klaus and Camille.

"Oh, well, in that case, congratulations Salvatore you're on the roster for homecoming court and seeing your history I think you're a shoo in to win. No offense Klaus."

"None taken. I don't even understand why I was nominated in the first place."

"Because you're crazy hot." Caroline answered clamping her mouth shut when she realized she had said it out loud. What the fuck was wrong with her?

"Thanks for the compliment Caroline, but I doubt I'll beat Stefan here."

"You might have a fighting chance. Who else got nominated?" Stefan asked Elena as Caroline was grateful for the subject change.

"Well I got nominated for homecoming queen…"

"Congratulations."

"Thank you, but Bonnie also got nominated, along with Klaus's sister Rebekah, Vicki, and of course Camille. And then Enzo, matt, and Tyler also got nominated."

"No surprise there. So, what are our themes for spirit week, so I can be prepared."

"I'm glad you asked, because we all need to prepare for the upcoming weeks. I mean people are expecting the homecoming nominees to go all out."

"Well thank God I'm not one of them." Caroline smiled relieved.

"But you're still participating. You're friends with everyone on homecoming court. You have to keep up appearances just as much as us, so don't think you're going to do anything half assed. That goes for all of us too."

"Alright, fine. What are the themes, so we can prepare?"

"I thought you'd never ask. So, Monday we have Decade day, we'll have to talk to about that. Unfortunately, lunch isn't long enough to go through all this."

"Then let's hang out after school and talk it through. Maybe even make some posters for our campaign." Stefan suggested which made Elena smile.

"That's actually a great idea. Me and Caroline can go shopping after rehearsal for supplies for posters and you guys can meet us at my house at 7, so we can make them and plan our outfits and what not, but there is one more thing that we need to plan now."

"What's that?" Klaus asked.

"We haver to pick our escorts for the assembly, of course."

"I totally forgot about that part. Do you want me to ask Damon to escort you?" Stefan asked. He was trying to turn over a new leaf.

"That would be great. Thanks Stefan."

"No problem."

"So, Stefan who are you going to ask to be your escort?"

"I'm not sure yet. I just hope that I find someone who's willing to be my escort soon."

Stefan looked at Caroline as she exhaled. She knew that he was hoping that she would be his, but she wasn't to that point yet.

"Well I know who I want to be my escort. Caroline. Would you be my escort for this homecoming assembly?"

Stefan winced slightly as Caroline looked around the table knowing exactly what she was going to say. Stefan had many chances with her, but she had never really given Klaus his fair shot. It was a truly easy decision for her.

"I would love to."

"Well in that case we really need to have this whole week planned out to the T. Caroline we'll definitely need to do shopping before the next two weeks are up and of course we'll have to practice the walk. This is going to be so much fun."

Caroline nodded her head in agreement, but on the inside, she thought this was going to be the most intense weeks of her life.

"So, are you going to tell me what really happened between you and Stefan?" Elena asked as they looked at the poster boards supplies in hand.

"What do you mean?"

"I know you Caroline Elizabeth Forbes, you're a bad liar and I can always tell when you're lying, so are you going to tell me the truth or not?"

"Alright. Alright. I kind of might have kissed Stefan because I was jealous of Klaus and Camille."

"Why would you be jealous of Klaus and Camille? He doesn't even like her like that and you could have just blown up your entire chance for a relationship with him. How could you do that?"

"What do you mean Klaus doesn't like Camille?" she answered ignoring everything else.

"Were you not paying attention at rehearsal today?"

"I was kind of paying attention to the rehearsal part."

"Well lucky for you I'm good at multitasking."

"So, what happened?"

"Cami asked Klaus to be her homecoming date."

Caroline's stomach dropped as she picked up some glitter and pout it in her basket. Great. Something else she had to be worried about.

"What did he say?"

"He told her no."

"What? Why would he do that?"

"Haven't you been listening? He told her no, because she's not the one he's interested in. You are. Don't you see Caroline, he rejected Cami, because he wants to ask you to the dance. How could you not see that?"

"I guess I just misunderstood what I saw this morning. Just like I always do. Fuck Elena. What am I going to do? "

"If you really want my advice than get in front of this before the rug is pulled from underneath you."

"So, you're saying that I should tell Klaus that I kissed Stefan?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Do it tonight before he figures it out from someone else."

"You know, you're right. I need to tell him. For once I'm going to be responsible for my actions no matter what happens between me and Klaus. "

"That's my girl. Now come on, let's pay for this stuff and get back to my house before the boys show up." Elena smiled as they went to the registrar to pay for their purchases.

"Alright, the snacks are all set up on the counter and I have our supplies and itinerary right here, so we can formulate a plan while they're here."

"You're taking this way too seriously. You know that, right?"

"It's senior year. Everything should be taken seriously."

Before Caroline could tease her further a knock on the door sounded as Elena sat up to go get it.

"I wonder which of the boys got here first."

Opening the door, Klaus stepped inside smiling at Elena as she invited him inside and Caroline exhaled. She knew she had to tell him, but she still wasn't sure how to. She guessed telling him before Stefan got here would be the best opportunity.

"I need to talk to you." She blurted out before he even had the chance to say hi.

"Um Alright then. Hello to you too by the way."

"Sorry. Hi. Do you think we can talk?"

"Of course. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. I just need to talk to you alone before everyone gets here."

"You guys can use my room for some privacy. I'll just wait until Stefan gets here."

Caroline and Klaus nodded as they went into Elena's room for some privacy. Damn. Why the hell was she so nervous?

"So, what did you talk to me ab-"

"I kissed Stefan!" She blurted at the same time causing her to blush. Shit. She hadn't meant to tell him that fast. Why the fuck was she so bad at this?

"What?"

"It was a stupid reaction to seeing you and Camille together this morning and I'm so sorry. It never should have happened. I should have dealt with my feelings like a real person and asked you if something was happening between you and Camille. I know now that you probably don't like her like that, but I'm not sure why, I mean she's basically perfect and I thought if she went after you then you wouldn't care about me anymore and I just blew it all out of proportion and kissed Stefan because he was there and he likes me and I know it was a shitty thing to do, but we just kissed and I swear to you that's all that happened. I know more could have happened if he was down for it, but he knew something was wrong and invited me out for coffee to talk about it and that's why I was with him when I should have really been talking to you, because leading Stefan on is not the kind of person I want to be. That's not me and I'm sorry if I hurt either of you. I was just upset, stupid, and jealous and that's not at all okay. I just hope you can forgive me, and we can continue being friends." She stated rambling.

"Caroline. It's okay. I'm not mad."

"You're not?"

"Of course not, Caroline. You're working through things right now. Some mixed emotions are bound to happen. Anyway, we're not together so I can't really be mad if you kissed Stefan, but I want you to know that I rejected Camille's request to go to the dance for one reason and one reason only. "

"What was it?"

"Because she wasn't you." He answered as their mouths moved closer together about to touch as Elena's door flew open causing them to spring apart.

"Shit. Sorry. Stefan is here and I thought it would be a nice time to start on those posters while we go over our outfit plans." Elena blurted feeling embarrassed.

"It's okay Elena. We were just finishing up here." Klaus answered smiling stepping away from her. Dammit. Why couldn't Elena have interrupted a second or two later.

"Alright. Let's get started."

"So, are you finally going to tell us the themes?" Stefan asked taking a sip of soda as he looked between Klaus and Caroline who were now sitting beside each other laughing at one of Klaus's jokes as Caroline doodled on one of his campaign posters.

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot. Okay. Let's take a break on the posters and strategize outfits so me and Caroline can coordinate. "

"Sounds like a good idea, so what's the first day?"

"So, the first day is decade day I think we should do the biggest four decades."

"Alright, who's doing what decade?"

"Well you'll do the 20's naturally. I just think you'll be the best flapper girl and you can wear you're Halloween costume from two years ago."

"That could work?"

"I'll take the 90's." Klaus said smiling at Caroline.

"In that case, Stefan you can do the 50's and I can do the 80's because I feel like everyone will be doing the 70's."

"Sounds like a plan. What's next?" Stefan nodded encouraging Elena to go on.

"Next up is Hero vs Villain day. That's the day that we won't coordinate. Call it a freebee. You can dress up as whoever you want. "

"Thank God. I don't think I can stand coordinating as the avengers." Stefan teased making Elena laugh.

"It's like you don't know me. The avengers are going to be overdone so of course I wouldn't make us do that theme. Just do heroes and villains that no one will think of."

Caroline nodded knowing exactly who she wanted to do a she wrote the idea down in her notebook. Her and Elena would be going shopping later in the week and she would be lying if she said she couldn't wait.

"Next up we have Fandom day."

"What fandom are we doing?" Stefan asked intrigued.

"Riverdale of course. It's the one who makes the most sense. "

"I take it that I'll be Betty Cooper since I'm the only blonde one in the group."

"Of course, you're the Betty to my Veronica. Now who wants to be Jughead and who wants to be Archie?" she asked looking between Stefan and Klaus.

"I'll do Archie. God knows I have the hair for it." Stefan said smiling over at Klaus.

"I guess that leads Jughead for me. What's next?"

"It's sorority and fraternity day. Also, I signed us up for the powderpuff football game Caroline. I hope you don't mind."

"I guess I really don't have a choice." Caroline smiled feeling nervous. She always hated football, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't excited for spirit week.

"And of course, Spirit day. We'll be getting our dresses and what not, but I'm excited for the game. Is the coach letting you play Stefan?"

"Absolutely. It would be stupid if he didn't. Are you coming to the game Caroline?"

"Of course. She wouldn't miss it for the world." Elena answered as Caroline gave Klaus an apologetic look.

"This may be the best spirit week ever." Stefan answered as they all agreed. No matter what had happened that week Caroline knew one thing for sure. It would definitely be memorable.


	8. Chapter 8

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 8

Author's note: This chapter contains an explicit sex scene. Please proceed with caution. I will be marking the scene with starts in case you want to skip it all together.

"Do you need another tissue?" Elena asked as Caroline nodded grabbing it and blowing her nose trying to stop her tears from falling.

If someone had told her that she would be spending her homecoming night crying in the back of Elena's car, she would have never believed them, but unfortunately that was how she had turned up. To fully understand what had happened, she had to start from the begging.

Decade Day

The halls filled with excitement as Caroline entered the school in her 20's inspired outfit. She was relieved last week when her school stated that they would be lenient on the dress code for that week so they could wear whatever they wanted if it didn't push the boundaries too much. It was still a learning institution after all.

"Damn girl. You still look amazing in that dress." Elena complimented her as she slammed her locker shut letting Caroline get a look at her 80's inspired outfit.

"Speak for yourself. Say what you want about the 80's but that style suits you."

They smiled at each other as Caroline took in Elena's outfit knowing that she had put a lot of effort into all four of their outfits. Even if she didn't win this time around, Caroline knew she deserved it. Hell, she even suggested that Caroline wear her red flapper dress that made her feel classy and timeless. Normally Caroline wasn't one for school spirit, but there was something about spirit week that made even her excited.

"This week is going to be so fun, but so much fun as well. I'm just glad Ms. Sommers gave us the week off so we can concentrate on this."

"Don't you still have a lot of stuff to do for student council and cheerleading?"

"That's why I'm glad we don't have rehearsal this week. My schedule is so packed, so packed that I need you to do me a favor."

"Why do I have a feeling that I'm going to regret this?"

"Come on Caroline, please, I can really use your help."

"Alright fine, what's the favor?"

"You're the best. I have a student council meeting tonight, but the cheerleaders are decorating the decorating one of the gyms for the homecoming dance and I need someone to go in my place."

"What time do I have to be there?"

"They start at four and oh yeah I forgot to mention one little thing."

"And what's that?"

"Well a cheerleader gets assigned a football player to work with and I may have been paired with Stefan. Thanks for filling in Caroline! You're the best!" Elena answered in a hurry racing down the hallway before Caroline had a chance to answer.

"Wait. Elena. What the fuck? Come back here!" But before she knew it Elena was gone.

"Fuck."

After school, Caroline took a deep breath as she opened the door to the smaller gym in their school as she walked inside and looked around to find the one person she recognized here.

"Caroline! I didn't expect to see you here." Camille o Connell said from behind her as Caroline turned around and saw her with Davina Claire. Another girl who had managed to score a slot in the show.

"Yeah. Elena had another engagement with the student council, so she sent me in her place."

"Well alright then, I had Elena paired with Stefan. He should be here soon if you want to sit on the bleachers and wait for him. "

"Sounds like a plan." Caroline responded with a smile heading towards the bleachers as she thought Elena owed her one.

"Forbes, I didn't expect to see you here." Stefan smiled as he strolled up to her looking dirty and sweaty from practice. Despite that he still looked pretty good.

"I got roped into doing it by Elena, so I guess you'll just have to deal with me instead."

"I couldn't imagine a better substitute. Come on I'll catch you up to speed."

"So how did you end up getting roped into picking the music selection? You're one of the most musically inclined people that I know."

"But Elena is not, so that's why I got roped into it. Lucky for me, I have you here to substitute and if I know both of you well, I know you're the one who knows the most music, so what do you think we should pick?"

"I think we should include music that fits all the themes for the week. It may be fun to have variety after all."

"That's actually not a bad idea. I'll keep that in mind. After all everyone loves a good song that they can dance to."

"I thought you hated dancing."

"Usually I do, but maybe if I had a good song to groove to, I can be easily persuaded to show off my moves."

"Moves? What moves? The last time I checked you had two left feet."

Before she could fully grasp what was happening, Stefan took her hand spinning her around so that the her back was pressed to his chest as he spun her back out only to pull her back in lifting her up and doing some moves she only saw in fifties movies as he finally finished making her laugh as he put her down.

"Damn. Who knew you had moves." She snickered.

"I guess I was just saving them for the right person." He replied getting dangerously close.

Breath catching slightly, Caroline was about to reply before they were interrupted by none other then Camille O Connell herself.

"Sweet moves Stefan, but if you don't mind there's tons more work to do, so we better get to it." Camille smiled walking away as Stefan rolled his eyes.

"She always has to be such a downer."

"Do you know Cami personally?" she asked wanting to get a bit more information about the real Camille.

"Not really. I mean we've had a few classes together, but we don't really travel in the same circles."

"Bummer, I was really hoping- "

"That I would have information about her, because you feel guilty that Klaus rejected her."

"Maybe a little."

"Well don't. From what I can tell Camille is not the kind of girl whose world stops turning just because a guy rejects her. She probably has another date in mind as we speak."

"Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Have a date or an escort for homecoming?"

"I managed to scrap up an escort, but I don't think she'll be my homecoming date."

"Why not?"

"Because she's not the one I'm interested in."

"Listen, Stefan, I know I'm the one you're interested in, but I think I already have a date." She said not mentioning Klaus by name in order to not rub it in.

"I know. I'm not blind to other's attraction to you, Caroline. Just know that if things don't work out with you and this guy then I'll always be an option."

"Stefan- "

"Don't say anything for now. Just think about it." He smiled as Caroline looked over her shoulder at Camille staring at them. How much had she heard? And how the hell was she going to deal with this?

Hero vs. Villain Day

"So, he literally propositioned you when he knew you were going to homecoming with Klaus?" Elena asked as she shoved books from her locker into her book bag, Caroline had to admit Elena looked pretty good as wonder woman. It really was an appropriate costume for her.

"Yeah, he seriously did, and I really don't know what to do."

"Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. They're just words and I don't think he'll do anything too drastic so why make it such a big deal."

"Because I know Stefan and I know he won't give up on that easily."

"Then let him try, you've been through enough in your life, either let two guys fight over you for once or let them know where you stand easy as one, two, three. I love the outfit by the way. Who are you supposed to be?"

"That's quite the way to change the subject, but I'm Claire from Heroes."

"Awesome. I totally wouldn't have thought of that. You're actually quite creative."

"Thank you."

"So, have you seen Klaus today?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

"Has he asked you to the dance yet?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure he eventually will."

"Has he even asked you to the bonfire?"

"No."

"I'm sure he will and if not, you could always ask him. "

"I wouldn't even know how."

"Well what does he like?"

"I'm still trying to figure it out."

"In that case you know what you have to do."

"And what's that?"

"You have to ask him on a date."

"We're just friends."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I don't think I'm sure about anything right now. There's still a lot of things we have to work out before we can even think about being together."

"I would still ask him out to dinner anyway. What do you have to lose?"

"You know what, you're right, I'm going to go for it. What do I really have to lose?"

"That's my girl. Now go get your man, before someone else does."

Nodding, Caroline went through the day not seeing Klaus until lunch where she sat down wondering where the hell he had been.

"Hey." She said sitting down putting her backpack beside her as Klaus put down his phone seeming dismayed by something.

"Hi."

"Are you okay?"

"No. I-I don't think I am."

"What happened?"

"I can't go into details here, but after school I'll tell you. I promise."

"I actually wanted to ask you to hang out today after school."

"Why?"

"It's just been a while since we've hung out just the two of us and I wanted to change that. If you're up to it that is."

"Sure. I could really use a friend today anyway."

"Yeah. A friend."

"So, what did you want to do?" he asked totally oblivious to her disappointment.

"I was thinking about just going to eat dinner, talk some more."

"Do you think we can maybe do a pizza parlor? I kind of promised Hope that we could go tonight, and you know how important keeping promises is to me."

"Of course, I-I don't mind."

"Great. I can't wait."

"So, who are you dressed up as today?"

"Dean Winchester."

"Awesome."

"I take it you're dressed as Claire from Heroes."

"You know the show?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

"You'd be surprised what's relevant in today's society."

"Like Riverdale?"

"Exactly. Are you excited to dress up as jughead tomorrow?"

"I think he's a little too moody for my taste, but I was thinking that maybe I could pick you up for school tomorrow so that the costumes make sense. That is if Elena wouldn't mind."

"I'm pretty sure she'd be relieved not to take me to school for once."

"Well in that case, I'm more than happy to take you. Maybe we can get breakfast or coffee before school as well."

"That would be nice."

"Well I'll definitely be looking forward to hanging out more with you. "

"I feel the same way."

Smiling they went back to their lunch as Caroline thought this week couldn't get any better.

"Are you excited to eat some pizza and play some games Hope?" Klaus asked looking in the back seat at an eager and restless Hope whose smile couldn't get any bigger.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed excited as ever.

"Does she usually get this excited when you guys go out for pizza?"

"Well we don't really get time out of the house together with going to school full time and my part time job, so it's actually quite rare that we go out and get to enjoy a nice family dinner."

"In that case. I'm glad that I can tag along. Thanks for inviting me. I know how important this must be for you."

"Anytime. You're always welcome to come with us whenever you feel like it." He smiled as he pulled into the pizza place. "Wait for me to come get you Hope. I'll be right there."

Exiting the car, Klaus took Hope's hand in his as Caroline followed them into the restaurant looking around to see a couple of games for the kids, a fully stocked pizza bar, and surprisingly quite a few drink selections for adults even though she wasn't of legal age yet she had to appreciate that one aspect.

"What should we do first?" Caroline asked eyes lighting up slightly. It had been a while since she could relive her childhood in one way or another.

"What do you think Hope? Should we eat first or play games?"

"I'm hungry." She said dragging Klaus to the food line as Caroline followed.

Piling up their plates with food, Klaus, Caroline, and Hope got a table sitting down to enjoy their pizza as Klaus and Hope continued a conversation that they had seemed to be having before Klaus had picked Caroline up.

"Your grandmother doesn't allow pets in the house Hope, so if we ever were to get a puppy, it would have to be when we get a house of our own."

"And when will that be?"

"Well I'll have to graduate first and then we'll have to live with grandma for a couple more years while I save the money for it, but I promise you Hope. One day we'll have a house with a big backyard and a new puppy for you to play with."

"Will mommy be there too?" Hope asked taking both Klaus and Caroline aback. What was Hope talking about?

"I'm not sure about that Hope. You know mommy is still trying to get better."

Puzzled, Caroline looked at both Hope and Klaus waiting for an explanation on what was going on before Hope answered her without really directing it at her.

"I know, that's what mommy said last night too. She said that she was getting help and she would see me soon. Do you know how soon is soon? Will I be able to see her when she's better?"

"I don't know sweetie. Your mommy is very sick, and it might take her years to get better, but I promise when she does get better, we'll see about a visit. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good." Hope said smiling as Caroline felt a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach.

Klaus must have sensed that Caroline wanted to talk about it, because when Hope was finished with her food, Klaus had told her to go ahead and play some games while him and Caroline chatted promising her that he would keep a watchful eye on her as well as both of them coming to play as soon as they were finished. Nodding, Hope took the coins that Klaus had purchased at the front and took off to the nearest game as Klaus looked at Caroline still keeping tabs on Hope.

"I know you must have a ton of questions and I promise I'll answer every one of them at breakfast tomorrow. I-I just need to be able to process all of this myself before I tell anyone about what happened. I get it if you don't want to anymore, but I feel like it'll be better to wait until tomorrow. Until Hope is out of earshot. She doesn't know the extent of Hailey's illness and I don't want to worry her when she's so young."

"I understand. You should probably get back to Hope. I'll catch up with you two after I use the restroom."

"Okay." Klaus answered as he sat up going to Hope as Caroline rushed to the bathroom and closed herself in a stall sliding down to the floor as she put her head in her hands and let the tears fall.

She knew it might have been an overreaction, but she couldn't help but feel that if Hailey ever came back, she would lose him completely. Maybe she should wait until tomorrow to make a judgement about it, but for right now she didn't really feel like starting something with Klaus until she knew for sure that Hailey would be in the past. She knew it was childish, but she just couldn't help it, she had never really been in this situation before and she wasn't sure how to act. She just hoped that no matter what happened it would be alright, but she couldn't expect the universe to fix it for her. Right now, she had to go out there and act mature about the situation. After all Hope had done nothing to her, she was just a girl missing one of her parents and Caroline would be lying if she said she didn't understand it.

Sighing, Caroline gathered all her strength and pushed herself off the bathroom floor opening the stall and washing her face to cool off the redness in her skin. When she was done with that, she opened the door and walked back to where Klaus and Hope were ready to have some real fun.

"Caroline! Come play with us!" Hope hollered from the other side of the arcade as Caroline smiled and joined Klaus and Hope at a game that looked like it was for shooting basketball hoops.

"Have you ever played?" Hope asked as Caroline grabbed one of the basketballs.

"Once or twice." Caroline said shooting the ball and missing the hoop completely.

"It's okay. I'm not very good either." Hope said with a synthetic shrug.

"I guess it just takes practice."

"Maybe dad can show you how sometime. He's pretty good."

"Really?"

"I may have played during my freshmen and sophomore year."

"Wow. I really am learning a lot about you."

"What can I say, I have many more layers than meets the eye."

"Can we play air hockey now?" Hope asked rather impatiently as Caroline gave her a smile.

"Sure." Klaus said as Hope took him over to the air hockey table as Caroline watched on wondering how much she really knew about Klaus Mikaelson.

Fandom Day

Taking a deep breath, Caroline checked her outfit one last time before she opened the door for Klaus and smiled taking in the different look for him. Was there any outfit he couldn't pull off?

"So, should I call you Klaus or Jughead today?"

"I prefer Klaus, Betty." He suggested with a glimmer of humor in his eyes.

"I prefer Caroline. Even if I do rock the Betty Cooper look."

"Yes, you do."

"Well we better get going if we want to have breakfast and talk before school." She said not forgetting what had happened last night.

"Yeah. Of course." He said feeling a little uneasy as they made their way to the restaurant not knowing that this moment would change the course of their relationship for good.

"How's your omelet?" Klaus asked as Caroline scooted it around her plate with a fork. They hadn't talked ever since they had got there, and it was really starting to bother her.

"Are we ever going to talk about what happened last night?" she asked putting a piece of omelet into her mouth and chewing slowly.

"That's what I was working up towards, I guess there was no avoiding it now. I have to tell you everything and after I'm done you may not look at me the same way as you are now."

"What's going on?"

"In order to tell you everything I need to continue with the story I was telling you. The one where I first met Hailey. It'll make more sense to you if I explain from the begging."

"Go ahead." Caroline encouraged as Klaus began his story.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Elijah asked as he poked Klaus's bruised cheek causing him to wince. Shit. He had forgotten about that.

"I got into a fight." Klaus shrugged hoping Elijah would leave it at that, but of course he wouldn't.

"With who?"

"I really don't feel like getting into details right now. Plus, Hayley is about to perform. You wouldn't want to miss her, would you?"

"Of course not, but that doesn't mean I want someone fucking with my baby brother either."

"Well you can stop worrying, because it's taken care of, now let's sit back and enjoy the show. Maybe if we're lucky we can get backstage and hang with Hayley for a bit."

"Since when are you interested in hanging out with Hayley?"

"Since I met her tonight."

"Ah, so my brother finally meets the infinite Hayley Marshall. Were you as taken by her beauty as most are?"

"I'm not going to lie, yes, we kind of, sort of, made out."

"You made out with my best friend?"

"Please don't kick my ass, her ex already did that for you and I really don't feel like bruising my face anymore tonight."

"Jackson did that to you?"

"You know that asshole?"

"Everyone who knows Hayley knows Jackson. They're an on again, off again type of thing, so if you do pursue her, I would keep that in mind. After all she may just be playing with you to make him jealous."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

Pushing that information into the back of his mind, Klaus looked at the stage as who he assumed was Hayley's band set up their equipment to play next as she set up her mic. Damn. Even if nothing happened between them, he would consider it quite the accomplishment to have a gorgeous specimen like herself take his virginity.

"How is everyone doing tonight?" Hayley asked as the crowd erupted into excited applause and responses.

"Are you ready for some music tonight?"

"Yeah!" the crowd shouted including Klaus, Elijah, and a very sloshed Rebekah. Damn getting her home would be a bitch.

"Alright then, this first song is dedicated to the ex who broke my heart, fucked me over, and left me to pick up all the pieces. Fuck you asshole. This one is for you." She said throwing her middle finger into the air as the band started playing as Klaus danced to the music. Why hadn't Elijah mentioned that she was this good?

"Fantastic isn't she!" Elijah yelled over the music as Klaus yelled his response.

"If I didn't already want to fuck her, I definitely do now!"

"You two are disgusting!" Rebekah yelled even though she would probably laugh it off later.

Klaus and Elijah shrugged as they listened to Hayley finish her set. When she was finished the crowd went ballistic as she took a short bow and headed backstage for the real fun.

"Do you want to try our luck at getting backstage to hang out with her?"

"We don't need luck when I can just text her to let us in."

"Then what are we waiting for let's go!" Klaus said as he, Elijah, and Rebekah made their way to backstage to have the time of their lives.

"So, this is what being an MVP must be like?" Rebekah acclaimed as she fell onto a couch taking a swig of her beer as Klaus and Elijah sat on a coach in-between Hayley.

"When you put it that way I guess, I'm starting to get used to it, so I guess the novelty of it wore off for me." Hayley answered taking a drink from her own bottle. Except this one was gin and not beer, because according to Hayley she didn't do the week shit.

"That must suck, but hey at least you're out here trying to live the dream." Rebekah answered yawning slightly.

"Tired already? The afterparty has just begun."

"Yeah, sorry I think I just overdid it tonight. I think I should really get home."

"I'll call Kol and he can take you home. I think I might head out too, what about you Klaus? Are you coming with us?"

Looking at Hayley's heated gaze telling him that she wanted to finish their conversation from earlier, Klaus smiled at Elijah and gave him an answer that he knew he wouldn't regret.

"Nah, I think I'll stay. If I want to come home, I'll just call one of those ride sharing apps."

"Suit yourself." Elijah said with a wink as he picked up Rebekah who looked dead on her feet. "Come on Rebekah let's get you home. Have a great rest of your night guys." Elijah said taking Rebekah out as Klaus smiled at Hayley heat filling his gaze as she licked her lips slightly.

"Oh, we will." Klaus replied speaking dangerously low as Hayley closed the space between them with her lips making him feel sweet, sweet ecstasy.

"Fuck!" Klaus moaned in passion as his head lolled back on the couch while Hayley moved her mouth up and down his shaft showing him how well she can really suck on a cock. He wished he could just be inside of her already, unfortunately for him Hayley liked foreplay. At least she seemed to also be thoroughly enjoying herself as she took his cock deeper and deeper in her mouth until it hit the back of her throat. Fuck. He didn't think it could get any better than this.

"You like that?" she asked stroking him while he nodded, and she put his cock back in her mouth. Of course, he liked it. Hell, he even dared to say he loved this. If she wasn't careful, he would explode in her mouth instead of where he really wanted to cum.

Feeling like he was on the edge of exploding, Klaus jerked Hayley's head up by her hair surprising her slightly as he kissed her roughly letting her know that he was ready to fuck the shit out of her as she smiled at him when the kiss had ended.

"Fuck. Sorry, I-I didn't mean to jerk your hair back like that. I don't know what came over me."

"That's okay. I like it rough." She answered knocking him back on the couch as she slammed her nice wet pussy down on his cock making him cry out in pleasure. As she rode him up and down, going harder and harder until she was nearly dripping all over him.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." he moaned taking her rock-hard breast into his mouth making her arch her back in response. Shit. He really had been missing out before he fucked Hayley, but he couldn't imagine a better person to lose it too.

"Cum for me!" he growled wanting her to finish as he bit her neck so hard that it would make a mark tomorrow.

"You first!" she groaned slamming down so hard on his cock that he thought he might lose control. Fuck this. If he was going to finish it wouldn't be on this position.

Flipping her over onto her knees, Klaus entered Hayley the way he had seen in so many porn videos and pumped into her moving fast and with great vigor as her moans echoed throughout the room. He even got a strange satisfaction thinking that everyone in that damn bar could hear them by now. Not that she seemed to mind judging by how her moans were almost coming out as screams of pleasure.

"Fuck!" she yelled out as he felt her finish all over him finally motivating him to spill all his seed into her as they both collapsed on each other breathless.

Kissing her naked torso, Klaus pulled Hayley closer cuddling her as her eyelids dropped and she smiled giving him a peck on the lips as she pulled herself closer resting her head on his chest finally able to catch her breath.

"Fuck. That was- "she said searching for a word in her vocabulary that could describe what they had just done.

"Exquisite. Life changing. Inspiring?" he thought feeling a smile pull at his lips.

"Well look who's getting cocky now."

"Considering the circumstances, I feel like you were the one getting cocky." He smiled as she snorted slapping his chest playfully.

"Perv." She smiled eyelids heavy.

"Do you want me to go? You look tired."

"You could stay. I have plenty of room and I can call one of my guy friends to cover you if you need an alibi for your mother."

"Well with a proposition like that. How can I say no?" Klaus smiled as Hayley kissed him pulling the blanket over them so they could start round two.

"I'm confused." Caroline responded finishing the last scraps of her omelet as Klaus looked at her a flush of red now coating his cheeks. Apparently that story was not an easy one to tell.

"Like I said I know you must have questions I thought I'd finish my story before you asked, so you could see the side of Hayley that I knew when we first met."

"Noted. So, if she was clean, why did you two break up in the first place?"

"We were never really together Caroline. After that night, we agreed that it was just a causal hook up because she was my brother's friend and it would be awkward and then she came to my house two month later saying that she was pregnant with Hope, so we tried but mostly failed to work it out."

"I may sound like a bitch for asking this question, but how were you sure Hope was yours? Elijah did state that Jackson was her on again. Off again boyfriend. Couldn't she have been his?"

"At first I thought that too. I was in total shock when she told me she was pregnant, I told her that there was no way that the universe would be so cruel. That it would never allow my first-time having sex to get someone pregnant, but here Hayley was in the flesh on my front porch in tears telling me that I was going to be a father. Naturally she understood my hesitance and got the paternity test, which proved that I was Hope's biological father. I had never been so scared in my life. Here I was barely sixteen years old and about to be a father. "

"What happened to Hayley, Klaus?" she asked almost too afraid to ask the question.

"After Hope was born, she relapsed. I had come to her apartment one day to Hope crying in her crib and Hayley on the floor surrounded by vomit with a needle in her arm. She had overdosed right in front of Hope and for that moment on, I knew I had to do what was best for my daughter. I called the hospital, they took Hayley away, I filed for primary custody of Hope which I was granted, and the judge had wanted to take Hayley's parental rights away completely, but we made a settlement instead."

"What was that?"

"That I wouldn't evoke her parental rights if she went into a treatment program for her problem. She's been in there ever since. "

"What was the phone call about?"

"She got awarded phone privileges for doing so well these past couple of months and she remembered the house number and called. At first my mother didn't want her to talk to Hope, but the decision was mine and I want my daughter to know her mother. Just because she made a horrible mistake doesn't mean she's a horrible person, so I allowed her to talk to Hope and she told me that she still had six more months of her program and she would love to see Hope when she got out. I told her I would think on it and I'm not sure what I should do."

"It sounds like you have a lot going on."

"You could say that."

"Are you sure that homecoming is a good idea? You're already going through enough, why add onto it?"

"Because this is the only thing keeping me sane right now. Having something to keep my mind off things is a tremendous help and worrying about Hayley getting out six months from now won't help anything. I need to live my life while I still can."

"I understand."

"Thank you for listening, it really helped to have a friend here." Klaus said smiling finishing the last of his food as Caroline struggled to get the words out.

"Klaus."

"Yes?"

"I don't want to be friends."

Shock registered to his face as his head hung low almost disappointed.

"Listen Caroline, I know that was a lot to take in, but I don't want to lose your friendship just because I've had it hard in life."

"No, Klaus. Fuck, why is this so hard to say? I'm not saying I don't want to be your friend. I'm saying that I-I want to be more."

"What?"

"I don't want to be just your escort for the homecoming assembly, I want you to ask me to go to the dance with you, I want one of those cheesy unbearable public displays to be asked to homecoming, I want to go to that bonfire with you and I want to watch that game even though I hate fucking football with a passion. I want to kiss you under the bleachers and hold hands in public and I know that we have shit to work out when it comes to Hayley and Stefan, but I can't help but want more and I won't apologize for what I want."

Resting his hand on hers, Klaus squeezed it gently as she waited in anticipation for his answer.

"I can't give you everything you want Caroline, but- I really do want to go to all the homecoming events with you. If you'll have me."

"Of course."

"Then it's settled. I just need to know one thing."

"And what is that?"

"What color is your dress?"

Putting the date in another book someone was checking out, Caroline handed the book to the student smiling as they said thank you and took off, so far being a student volunteer at the library wasn't that bad, she just wished the work wouldn't be as tedious sometimes.

"Need some company?" a voice asked as she looked up and saw Klaus looking down at her.

"Sure. If you don't mind reorganizing books while I get some actual work done. She said still a little bit bitter from what happened earlier.

"Still pretty steamed at Stefan I take it." He said grabbing a pile of books and putting them on the shelf as Caroline remembered what had happened earlier that day.

"Hey." She said to Stefan as he shut his locker looking at her as if he was slightly hurt. He must have heard that Klaus had finally asked her.

"Hey." He said back throwing his backpack over her shoulder seeming a little distant.

"I thought I would get to you before someone else did to tell you that Klaus asked me to homecoming this morning, but I guess someone already told you."

"Yeah, Elena loves to rub in the fact that you're happy with someone else. It's okay Caroline really. I'm happy for you."

"Really? I thought you'd be more upset then this."

"It's not like I didn't see it coming Caroline, besides I have a date anyway, so it's not like it mattered that much anyway. "

"Really? Who's your date?"

"You're looking at her." Lexi answered hooking her arm through his as Caroline's smile faltered. What the fuck was going on here? "What's wrong Caroline? You seem a little pale."

"I-I have to go to class. I'll see you later." She said turning around before Stefan could catch how angry she really was.

"I don't want to talk about it." She said placing a book on the shelf trying to be gentle with it but seemed to fail because of how angry she was.

"You know it's okay if you want to talk about it. What he did was shitty, And it's okay if you're mad about it."

"No, Klaus I don't want to talk about how Stefan stabbed me in the back yet again by asking my sister, who he cheated on me with, to homecoming when I didn't even get asked, I had to pretty much bully you into it and now I feel like shit, so no I don't want to talk about how pathetic I am. "

"I was."

"What?"

"Going to ask you to homecoming. I had this whole cheesy idea mapped in my head, but you beat me to the punch I'm afraid."

"Alright, I'll bite. How would you have asked me?"

"It seemed like a pretty cliché idea, but I was going to come into the library today while you were working and get a book to check out. I would have walked up to the desk where you were working and slipped the book to you and when you opened the book to sign the return date slip, but you would have found a hand written note instead asking you to homecoming. You possibly would have said yes and then we would have been discussing homecoming for the rest of the day and I know it's not an over the top gesture ;like you may have wanted, but it would have been personal and I feel like that's a way better way to ask a person to homecoming. Don't you think? "

"Yeah, it sounded amazing. I'm sorry if I ruined it."

"No, we had to have the conversation about Hayley at some point I'm glad that we got it over with sooner rather than later and I'm glad that you asked me in a way, it made me feel important to you. It's been a while since I've felt that way."

"I'm sorry if I haven't been the best person for a while. I guess I'm just trying to work things out. After all it is my senior year and that's pressure enough."

"And I'm sorry if I'm pushing you to get over something that hurt you, God knows I'm still getting over the Hayley thing and I shouldn't be as impatient as I am when it comes to you and Stefan."

"If it helps, I'm making progress and him asking Lexi to the dance actually helped it move further along."

"Not to sound like a bad guy here, but I would go easy on Stefan when it comes to the Lexi thing."

"Since when do you defend Stefan Salvatore?"

"Since I figured out that he gave up his chance to ask you to homecoming, so I could ask you instead."

"You knew about that?"

"He found me after I asked to be your escort and we talked about it."

"You talked about me to Stefan?"

"Believe it or not Caroline, he's not a bad guy. He may have been one when you first met him, but people grow and change over time. After all, not many guys would let another guy ask out the girl that they like."

"Did he ever tell you why?"

"Because he knew you would say no. Because he didn't want to fuck things up with you when you're trying to work things out. Besides did you even ask him why he asked Lexi to the dance or did you just draw a conclusion that satisfied you enough."

"So, what you're saying is that I should ask Stefan why he asked Lexi to be his date?"

"Exactly, after all it's better top know the truth then let your mind come up with conclusions."

"Alright. I'll ask him, but if he asked her out to spite me, can I punch him in the face?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me." He said as she nudged his shoulder playfully wondering how in the hell, she was supposed to talk to Stefan about this.

Sorority vs Fraternity Day

"Can we talk?" Caroline asked as she clutched her backpack trying to feel somewhat comfortable in the outfit that Elena had made the girls wear for powderpuff football that wasn't the least bit efficient as Stefan looked up wearing one of the male cheerleading uniforms that Elena had dug up for the football players that didn't want to go all out and be in cheerleading uniforms. It was a nice beautiful day outside and she had been going outside to get some fresh air when she had noticed Stefan and realized that it was time to talk to him about the Lexi thing no matter how much it hurt her to confront her feelings about it, she had to grow up and face them sometime.

"Sure. What did you want to talk about?" he asked closing the homework he had been working on before she arrived reminding her of another time, but now wasn't the time for that. She had to concentrate on the here and now.

"I wanted to first apologize about how I acted yesterday, I shouldn't have took off like that after I figured out you were going with Lexi and I'm sorry, but I guess what was really bugging me was that you asked her in the first place. I thought you two weren't that close and when I figured out you two were going together, well I know this might sound a little self-centered, but I figured it was because you couldn't ask me, so you asked her out just to spite me because you were jealous, but after talking to Klaus yesterday about it I realized that really wasn't the case and he said I should at least hear you out first. He told me that you told him you hadn't asked me so he could have the opportunity, I guess what I'm trying to ask is why would you do that in the first place? As well as I'm trying to understand this whole situation all together."

"I didn't ask her to the dance to spite you."

"So why did you ask her?"

"I didn't ask her Caroline, she asked me."

"Why did you say yes?"

"Because I owe her just as much as I owe you. I fucked her over too Caroline and I ruined your relationship with her, I figured I owed her a stupid date after all that bullshit."

"What makes you think you ruined our relationship?"

"Please Caroline, have you even spoke two real words to her since then or asked her about how her life has been since then? Did you even know her boyfriend dumped her last week? Do you know the friends she associates herself with or how much Elena's words really hurt her? Do you even try to understand what she may be going through occasionally? Or how much she misses having a sister she could actually talk to?"

"We've just turned into two totally separate people Stefan; I don't know how to talk to her. She's always so hostile when we talk. Fuck, how do you know she didn't ask you to the dance just to spite me?"

"Because not everything is about you Caroline. Sometimes people just ask people out because it's what they want. Maybe she asked me, because she really wants to go with me. Have you even thought about that possibility instead of making everything about yourself? Or do you really think we all make decisions based off what we're feeling about you that day."

"Listen Stefan I didn't mean to offend you, I just wanted to know the truth."

"Well I hope you were satisfied enough by answer to sleep well tonight. Now if you don't excuse me, I got to get to class, some of us actually put our schoolwork over our useless drama." Stefan answered throwing his stuff back in his backpack, but she wasn't finished yet. There was still so much to talk about.

"How would you have asked me?" she blurted out immediately making him turn around, his face shocked. Obviously, she wasn't supposed to know this information, but since Klaus had told her, he really had no choice but to answer her, no matter how much of an ass he might sound like.

"It doesn't matter now." Stefan answered walking away from her as Caroline lifted her head to see Camille who was now shaking her head at her as she walked away with tears in her eyes remembering a time not too long ago when she had felt the same way.

"Hey stranger, long time no see. "she smiled at Stefan who looked at her in confusion as if trying to place who the hell she was before settling on who she was, a smile crossing his features as recognition it. Damn she knew it had been a while since they had sex on his rooftop, but she didn't feel like she had been that forgettable. How bad had she been at sex? Elena and she had to bail out quickly that morning and they hadn't talked ever since. She had just figured he had been busy and had forgot to call her.

"What's up Forbes, didn't expect to see you here."

"Well I go to school here, so we were bound to cross paths at some point don't you think?"

"Ugh yeah I know that. I just didn't expect that you would talk to me after the other night."

"Why wouldn't I? I mean I thought we at least had a mutual attraction to each other. I thought maybe we could maybe go out again sometime. You know just chill."

"Listen Caroline, I'm going to be straight up with you because I really don't want to hurt your feelings, but I don't like you like that."

"But. we had sex…."

"Because I thought you were smoking hot and you were down to fuck too. It was no more than that I can assure you of that. I don't date and I don't want a girlfriend and I think I should make that clear to you now before you embarrass yourself any further."

"Too late for that. You fucking asshole." She said narrowing her eyes about to walk away as he called her name out probably to apologize for his rude behavior.

"If you're ever down to fuck again, you know where to find me." He replied with a laugh making her cheeks flush red as she pushed back her tears never feeling more embarrassed then she ever had in her entire life.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked tying her shoe as Caroline threw her stuff into her gym locker as she made sure the ponytail, she had done this morning for the football game didn't come loose throughout the day.

"Fantastic. Couldn't be fucking better."

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Can we just get this game over with? For once I'm actually looking forward to having physical contact that isn't the sexual kind."

"Damn, I've never seen you more pissed off then I have now, but I think I actually like it. Come on girl, let's kill this game."

"I thought you'd never ask." Caroline replied slipping her arm through Elena's as they walked out of the gym onto the field ready for one of the most intense games of her life.

"About fucking time, you two showed up, we do have a game to play you know." Camille spat seeming more pissed off than usual around Caroline as she wondered why the hell, she was upset this time. It wasn't like Elena and Caroline had done something to upset her or miss the game. They still had five minutes before it even started so she didn't know what Camille's damage was.

"What crawled up your ass and died today O' Connell? You're bitchier than usual."

"Just get into your positions Gilbert and try not to fuck up this game like you do everything else Forbes, I want to win for once,"

Caroline's jaw nearly dropped as her and Elena took their positions trying to get what Cami had said out of her mind. Caroline was here to have fun, not cause drama with one of the most popular girls in school.

"Hut! Hut! Hike!" Camille yelled sending the ball flying as the girls broke out in a run. Caroline's breath caught as she realized that the ball was headed straight towards her as she tried but mostly failed to catch the ball as the other team grabbed onto it and Camille looked at her in dismay.

"Oh, come on Forbes! I thought you were good at catching balls!" She yelled insulting her as Caroline wondered what the fuck her problem was. What the fuck had she done to make Cami treat her like this?

Shaking off the comment, Caroline dodged multiple comments from Cami as she put her head in the game even scoring a few touchdowns before the big moment had happened. The one that had finally pushed her over the edge.

"Fuck Forbes, I expected better from you then this after all from what I've seen you're an expert at playing the field." She said getting a little too close to Caroline's face for comfort and frankly she was tired of Cami's shit.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Caroline asked voice low in what she hoped was her best fuck off voice.

"Oh, please Caroline, don't act so fucking innocent, everyone on this team knows that you're fucking both Klaus and Stefan. Honestly, I find it kind of nasty that you don't respect yourself enough to stick to one guy at a time. But what amazes me the most is that they see anything in you to begin with. Especially Klaus. "

"You're just jealous because the guy you asked rejected your ugly ass. If you're going to talk that shit to me, you might as well tell the truth stupid bitch."

"That's fucking it1" Camille yelled tackling Caroline to the ground as the both grappled with each other scratching each other and missing swings as they got a hold of each other's hair. Fuck. Camille really was strong.

The fight between them seemed to last quite a while as Caroline heard the cheers and yells of her classmates one sounding vaguely familiar as they were pulled apart from each other by none other then Stefan and Klaus.

"That's enough!" Stefan yelled trying to hold Camille back as she laughed about to lose her shit further.

"Of course, your fuck boys come to your rescue, like always." Camille spat as a teacher came towards them. Shit. They were so busted.

"You two, principal's office, now." She growled as Stefan and Klaus let them go letting them follow the teacher to the principals' office to see how much shit they were really in.

"I should suspend you two on the spot right now so you two won't be able to participate in homecoming, luckily for you I'm a very forgiving man and I'll settle for you two trying to work out your issues while I step out and rest assure I will be outside so no funny business." The principal said setting out as Camille and Caroline sat side to side not really saying anything before Caroline finally broke the silence.

"It's not my fault that Klaus didn't want to be your date. I can't control who likes me or not, but that's no excuse for you to treat me like shit, you know that right?"

"You just don't get it do you?"

"The educate me Camille, don't sit there and belittle me just because you expect me to know how you feel."

"I just don't understand what he sees in you. I mean I'm fucking Camille O Connell, captain of the cheerleading team, the girl who gets everything right and always get everyone she wants no matter what she has to do and you're Caroline Forbes, a fucking no one who can't get her shit together and uses her anxiety as an excuse to not live her life. I've never led Klaus on, and you sit there and toy with his and Stefan's emotions by not deciding who to pick. Fir fuck sakes, it's not that hard. Stop hurting them and pick the one you like the most before you end up losing them both."

"I know you have no reason to believe me and after the behavior I've displayed I don't expect you too, but I really care about Klaus and Stefan. I'm not trying to drag them along and I know who I really want, but the fact is that it's more complicated then just picking and choosing someone. Stefan and I have history. We have shit we have to work through before I can even remotely think about getting into a relationship with Klaus. And Klaus has shit of his own to deal with too, if you took one second to ask him about his life you might see that. So, don't sit there and criticize me for trying to make a mature choice between the two. I don't want to hurt them. Sometimes I hate myself when I do. You don't have to deal with that. You're so perfect all the time that issues like this don't even touch you. I kind of envy you for that and for a while there I was actually jealous of you."

"Why would you be jealous of me?"

"Because your and Klaus's relationship is so simple. I wish it could be that way for me, but I'm just a girl with baggage that I need to handle, and I don't want Klaus to deal with that, he's got enough of his own."

"Trust me when I say that when it comes to me and Klaus you have nothing to be jealous about."

"I really am sorry he doesn't like you. Maybe his life would be simpler if he did."

"Who really knows right. I'm sorry for what happened on the field. That isn't me and I let my jealousy get a hold of me. I'm sorry."

"I'll forgive you if you forgive me."

"Deal." She agreed as they both smiled at each other.

That day when Caroline left the office, she felt like she understood Camille O Connell more than she ever had before.

"I can't believe you and Cami actually worked your shit out after that huge fight on the field." Elena said in shock as she drove them to the site where the bonfire was set to be.

"I can't believe the principal didn't suspend our asses for the rest of the week. I got really lucky."

"I still think it's bullshit that you got in trouble in the first place, it was Cami who started it, she should have been the one who got in trouble."

"I fought back Elena. I'm just as guilty as she is."

"Since when do you stand up for Camille?"

"I'm not. I'm just trying this new thing called taking accountability for my actions."

"I'm proud of you Forbes, you've grown so much in the past couple of weeks, and to think we still got months of school left to go."

"Can't wait to see how the rest of my school year will turn out if it's this exciting already."

"Alright girl, let's go meet everyone before you get into any more trouble this week."

Laughing, Caroline and Elena walked to where the wood for the bonfire was being set up as Stefan, Lexi, Klaus, and Rebekah stood around it as Caroline took a deep breath. She knew she had to talk to both Stefan eventually but for tonight she would just let everyone enjoy themselves after all they deserved it after all she had put them through without really realizing it.

"There's our troublemaker, it's nice to see you post fight." Stefan teased seeming in a better than he had been since the last time she had talked to him.

"Yeah. I guess I'm a real rebel now." She replied as Klaus squeezed her shoulder making her feel somewhat content.

"You want a beer?" Stefan asked as Caroline fused her eyebrows in confusion.

"I think I'll pass. I want to remember this night and besides I'm sleeping over at Elena's, so you know she'll want to drink later tonight. "

"You read my mind." Elena smiled as others laughed around them making Stefan shrug, more for him she guessed."

"I can't wait for this fire to start; I swear it's my favorite part of homecoming." She smiled as Elena considered hers.

"Mine would have to be the game in general. Are you ready for it, Stefan?"

"Of course, I've been training for it for weeks. I can't wait to kick some tiger ass." He replied flashing his pearly whites.

"Well I'm pretty sure if anyone can do it it'll be you." Lexi smiled squeezing his arm gently as he gave her a tiny smile, but not really saying anything.

"I think the fire is about to start," Klaus said as they gathered around watching as someone lit it up Caroline gazing in awe as Klaus grabbed her hand interlocking it with his own making her feel on top of the world. Maybe she should give this relationship a chance. Maybe she should give Klaus a real chance, but for some reason there was still a small part of her that told her to wait. To learn more about him before jumping into a relationship. But for now, this was enough.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Klaus whispered as the others watched the fire giving them their privacy.

"Sure." She answered taking his hand as the walked not really knowing their location but just talking about anything they desired as the moon shone above them.

"Are you okay?" he asked stroking her face as she smiled.

"Yeah. Thank you for stopping the pulling us off each other. It might have got worse if you or Stefan didn't intervene."

"I never expected Camille to go after you like that. I'm sorry she did that because of me, Elena told me about her comments to you on the field."

"You can't control people's feelings Klaus sometimes people just overreact."

"As long as you're sure you're okay."

"I'm perfect." She said as he smiled at her making her heart feel warm. Maybe it was the wrong time for this, but it sure as hell felt right.

"Klaus."

"Yes."

"Kiss me." She breathed as his lips closed the distance between hers making everything feel right in the amidst all the chaos.

"So, you two kissed again?" Elena smiled later that night as Caroline blushed painting her toenails and trying to hide her humongous smile.

"I would say we did more than just kiss."

"Shut the fuck up. Did you two bone?" Elena teased as Caroline lifted her head shaking it.

"What? No, we just made out. I swear my lips are still swollen from the experience."

"You two are so sweet I can't stand it, so when will you two make things official?"

"I already told you, I'm seeing how things work out before we put a label on it."

"Very mature and sophisticated of you."

"What can I say I'm a changed woman."

"I'm glad you're taking it slow, so are you going to tell me why you were so mad before the game?"

"It's stupid."

"Your feelings aren't stupid Caroline, come on you can tell me."

"Me and Stefan had an argument."

"About Lexi?"

"You can say that, but mostly it was about how self-centered I've been acting when it comes to his motives."

"To be fair, he did cheat on you with her, what was your reaction supposed to be?"

"I'm just going to give him space when he's ready to work it out he'll come talk to me."

"Are you sure you want that? Maybe Stefan is more drama then he's worth."

"Klaus doesn't think so."

"Excuse me, Klaus, girl you better spill." Elena responded grabbing the nail polish to paint her own toenails. A nice red shade. Their school colors.

Her phone beeped signaling an incoming message from non-other than Lexi. What did she want?

'Don't forgot about mom's homecoming breakfast tomorrow, she says it's one we won't want to miss Lexi messaged as Caroline sighed.

'I'll be there after Elena and I are done getting ready. Tell mom I said goodnight' she texted back shoving her phone back in her bookbag as Elena waited for her response

"I'm waiting Forbes."

"Apparently Stefan and Klaus are now friends."

"I- did not expect that."

"It is what it is, if they want to be friends then that's their business. All I know was that when I complained to Klaus about the whole Stefan and Lexi situation, he said that Stefan was actually a great guy and maybe I should listen to his side of the story before I jumped to conclusions."

"So, you talked to Stefan and I take it his response wasn't that great."

"He was pissed that I made it about myself. In all fairness it really isn't my business why they were going to the dance together. I mean it's not like we are dating or anything and why shouldn't he be happy with someone who actually cares about him?"

"Still he shouldn't have been nasty to you especially after what he put you through. Did he say why he asked her in the first place?"

"He didn't ask her, she asked him."

"Wow, what a bitch, why did he say yes?"

"He felt as if he owed her one and in retrospect, he kind of does. I don't know. I'm done with overthinking about things. I just want to enjoy my life for once. I want to fall for a guy and not have drama follow me wherever I go. I don't think that's too much to ask."

"You'd be surprised."

"Well, it's late and we should probably get some sleep, wouldn't want any bags under our eyes for the big day tomorrow."

"Yeah, You're right. I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be one of the best days of our lives." Elena smiled as they turned out the lights getting ready for bed wondering what tomorrow would hold for them.


	9. Chapter 9

"Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 9

For the first time in a while, Caroline woke up with a smile on her face ready to tackle whatever the day had to throw at her. Throwing the covers to Elena's bed off her body, Caroline stretched out as Elena turned over seeming somewhat sleepy, but happy to take on the day herself.

"Someone seems in a good mood this morning."

"What can I say, I guess I'm just excited to start the day."

"Excited to get more time with Klaus is more like it."

"Maybe I just really like homecoming."

"You have never been this excited for homecoming in your life Forbes. It's about your date with Klaus and you know you got it bad. Just admit it to yourself."

"Come on we better get ready before we're late to the annual homecoming g breakfast."

Every year for homecoming, the Mystic Fall Grill hosted the annual homecoming breakfast for all high school students and their families. Caroline's mother was always a fan of going to the grill so she could get some quality time with Lexi and Caroline. It was the only time in the year that they all seemed like a big happy family.

Grabbing her phone, she texted asking Klaus if him and his family were going to be there hoping to God that they would be because the last thing she needed was one of the most awkward family breakfast of her life.

'I didn't even know that was a thing, where is it at, mom's at work, but I can bring Hope and a few of my siblings.'

'The Mystic Falls Grill, I'll text you the address.'

'Sounds good. Will I see you there?'

'Of course, you will, it's Mystic Falls tradition after all.'

'I'm going to have to start getting used to all these traditions around here, what else should I expect from today'

'Well in true Mystic Falls High tradition we all start off by getting up and decking ourselves out in all our best Mystic Falls High school attire, then almost all of us attend the homecoming breakfast at THE Mystic Falls Grill before all going to school where the homecoming court and their escorts will deck themselves out in their homecoming dresses and tuxes before we all go to the Homecoming assembly where they'll crown the Homecoming queen and king and the football players will give their jackets to one lucky person of their choosing as a symbol of good luck for the game and of course whoever gets it will have to wear it to the game, but then the school will let us out for the day so all of us can go to our assigned homecoming floats so that the parade can commence and after that all of us will go to the homecoming game before hastily getting ready for the dance and dancing the night away.'

'Sounds like we are in for quite a day. I take it Elena is rushing you two to get ready, so she doesn't miss a moment of her big day?'

'On the contrary, she's taking her time in the shower and I wish she would hurry so I could take one and we could get ready for this day. Prepare for me to look more festive than you've ever seen me before. It is absolutely atrocious.'

'I doubt that you could look atrocious even if you tried really hard to do so, you're too pretty for that'

'Laying on the charm a bit thick this morning, aren't we?'

'What can I say, you make me all warm and mushy on the inside Caroline Forbes'

'I better get going if I'm going to make it to that breakfast. Can't wait to see you.'

'Looking forward to it. See you there.'

Smiling Caroline put away her phone as Elena stepped out of her shower towel drying her hair as Caroline stood up to go take a shower herself letting the water fall on her body and thinking about how great this day would turn out. And it had only just begun.

After Elena and Caroline had got decked out in their best attire which included putting red temporary highlights and face paint as they walked out of Elena's house telling the Gilberts and Katherine that they would see them there as they climbed into the car and made their way to the grill.

Barely finding parking, Elena and Caroline parked further away from the place as they got out of the car and walked up thee.

"Ugh oh." Elena stated as she stopped dead in her tracks looking at something further ahead.

"What? What's up?" Caroline asked looking ahead to see her mother with none other than Lexi, Stefan, and surprisingly Damon of all people. Well she didn't expect to see him here, but then she remembered that he was Elena's escort today and it all seemed to make sense.

"Nervous?" she asked looking at Elena who narrowed her eyes slightly.

"No. Damon and I are friends, nothing more to it then that, I'm more concerned that Stefan is up there with Lexi and you have to deal with that shit. I mean weren't the dance, bonfire, and assembly enough?"

"Honestly it doesn't bug me as much as it did yesterday. Camille kind of had a point when she said I had to stop stringing them both along. Stefan and I have already tried being something and failed so why wouldn't I giver Klaus an honest chance?"

"Is that the real reason why you chose Klaus? Because he's new and hasn't found a way to fuck you over yet."

"No. I chose Klaus because he's sweet and he's honest. He's a great father and if I'm out of line he'll tell me. I need someone like that in my life and if Lexi and Stefan want to give dating a real try, who am I to stop them?"

"Well if it's any conception I like this new, mature you, it's very refreshing."

"Thank you. I'm trying."

"You'll get there. Now come on, let's go enjoy this breakfast."

Walking up to her family, Elena exchanged pleasantries with Caroline's mother before she gave Damon a hug.

"What's up Salvatore? How's college going?"

"Not as fun as high school I'm afraid, but I guess that's adulthood, you have to learn how to grow up sometime right?"

"Definitely. For what it's worth I'm glad you're my escort."

"Please, I wouldn't have it any other way." Damon smiled as Elena blushed.

Caroline wished they would just get together already, but she knew why they couldn't until Elena was at least out of high school. After all he wouldn't want to get shit from his frat brothers about dating a high school student.

"Shall we go inside?" Her mother asked looking around for someone in the restaurant. She guessed she was looking for one of her fellow sheriff friends.

"I think I'll stay outside for a while. Wait for Klaus and his family to show up."

"Klaus?" her mother asked making Caroline realize she had never really mentioned Klaus to her mother before.

"Caroline's new boyfriend." Elena teased her making her mother look at her in shock.

"He's not my boyfriend. We're just hanging out for now and he just so happens to be my date to homecoming."

"You didn't mention you had a date."

"You were busy this week and I didn't want to bother you. It's alright really, just acting like any normal high school teenager would."

"Mom. Our seats." Lexi interrupted seeming somewhat annoyed.

"Right. We'll take about this later, Caroline."

Nodding the others went inside the restaurant until it was just her and Stefan outside. She was surprised Lexi hadn't dragged him through the door when she had the chance.

"What are you still doing out here? I figured you would have gone in with Lexi."

"I wanted to apologize for how I acted yesterday. I was pissed at the situation and I took it out on you, I shouldn't have done that and I'm sorry."

"No. I needed to hear it. Thank you for being honest with me, even if it did hurt a little."

"Caroline, I- "Stefan began before a voice interrupted them.

"There you two are, at first I thought I would never find this place with all the traffic and such." Klaus said as Hope ran up and gave her a hug which she returned happy that she was warming up to her.

Next to Klaus was Rebekah, Elijah, and two other people that she did not recognize that must have been two of Klaus's other siblings. Two of them were missing along with his mother, but Caroline had expected not all of them to come out today.

"I told you not to doubt yourself brother, you were worried we wouldn't make it and yet here we are with your fair hair maiden." one of his brother's said turning his attention to her with an extended hand. "Kol Mikaelson and you must be Caroline. My brother had told me a lot about you."

"All good things I hope." Caroline smiled shaking his hand in greeting.

"Nothing but the best." His sister answered for Kol as she remembered that Caroline had no idea who she was. "Hi, I'm Freya."

"I'm guessing your mother was a fan of Norse mythology." she smiled.

"Only a little bit, I'm guessing she just named me that so I would grow up with a complex." She laughed as Caroline joined in seeing Stefan shuffling his feet in the gravel obviously feeling as if he were intruding in a private conversation. Well he had insisted on staying out here with her to wait, so he just had to deal with it.

"Who's this?" Elijah asked looking at Stefan whose head shot up in response.

"Stefan Salvatore. I'm Caroline's friend." He answered shaking Elijah's hand as Klaus picked up Hope and slid his hand in Caroline's.

"Now that all the pleasantries are exchanged should we go inside and try to find our table." Klaus smiled as everyone nodded their head in agreement. Well this should be a very interesting experience.

"Caroline! Over here!" Elena shouted from the other end of the grill as they all squeezed through the crowded tables to the huge table that Elena and her mother had magically put together.

As Caroline, Klaus, and Hope walked up to the seats that their mother had saved, Klaus asked the waitress for a booster seat for Hope as she nodded and they sat down across the way from her mother, Lexi, and Stefan with Elena and Elijah by their side.

"Hi." Hope said to her mother as her face melted in a heart-warming smile.

"Well, Hello there. What's your name?"

"Hope." She smiled.

"What a beautiful name. Is this your sister Klaus?" her mother asked almost making Caroline spit out her orange juice. She had hardly mentioned Klaus to her mother much less the fact that he had a daughter.

"No. Hope is my daughter."

Her mother looked at her in response seeming somewhat okay with the fact that Klaus had a kid, but still pretty pissed off that Caroline hadn't better prepare her to have this conversation, and she didn't blame her. Caroline should have told her mother about Klaus and Hope. Why hadn't she even thought about that until now? Shouldn't her mother have been the first one she told?

"Now that I'm looking at her, she does have your eyes. How old is she?"

"Two." Klaus smiled still being polite. He must be used to these types of questions by now.

"I remember when the girls were that age. You must be exhausted, I remember I hardly wanted to get out of bed somedays, because that meant I would have to deal with quite a few temper tantrums."

"I can say that I totally get the feeling. It helps that I have a great support system by my side."

"That's always very important. So how did you meet my daughter?" She asked as Caroline winced. She knew her mom knew about the party, but she kind of wanted to keep their first meeting to herself. There was something about it that sounded personal.

"I introduced them." Damon interjected as Klaus gave him an appreciative look. It wasn't that far from the truth they had met because Damon had invited her and Elena to his fraternity party.

Caroline's mother nodded accepting this answer, but from the look on her face Caroline knew that she would have to answer more questions when she got home later that night.

The rest of the breakfast seemed to be going by smoothly, Klaus and her mother had seemed to be bonding over stories about their children. She had even shared some embarrassing stories about Caroline and Lexi which they didn't mind. It seemed like things were going along peacefully until he showed up.

Taken aback by the sudden familiar face, Caroline had no time to put on her filter as her and Stefan said at the same time. "What is he doing here?"

Looking at each other they knew they had made a mistake as Caroline blushed and the guy who Caroline had seen kissing her mother at the carnival looked at both confused.

"I'm sorry, have we met before?"

"Sorry. You just look so familiar. Obviously, I was mistaking you for someone else. Hi, I'm Caroline. Liz's daughter." She smiled trying her best not to implode.

"I'm Howard. It's nice to finally meet you."

"So, how do you know my mom?" she smiled trying to cover up the awkwardness.

"Do you want to take this one over Liz. I think this is a question your daughters' need answered from you."

"Right. Caroline, Lexi, this is Howard. We've been dating for the past couple of weeks and I thought it would be a great opportunity for him to finally meet you two."

A couple weeks? But Caroline had seen her mother kissing this man around two years ago. Had her mom seriously just lied to both to save face for the fact that she had been dating this guy five months after her father's death?

"It's nice to meet you." Lexi smiled oblivious to the situation they were in.

"Same." Caroline answered as Klaus looked at her sensing something wrong but not wanting to ask her in front of her mother. She was thankful for at least that as Stefan and her exchanged looks a silent, are you okay? Going through them as Caroline shuffled some more food in her mouth not willing to talk about it.

When the breakfast was over, everyone went their separate ways. Her mother and Lexi went with Howard, because Lexi wanted to try to get to know him more and Hope had gone back home with Elijah, Kol, and Freya. That left her, Elena, Damon, Rebekah Klaus, and Stefan.

Caroline exhaled as she had explained the situation to everyone there not missing a beat as Stefan had backed up her story. It was difficult for her to tell, but she knew she owed everyone some sort of explanation.

"So, when we caught you and Stefan making out that night, it was because you saw your mother with Howard?" Elena asked the wind blowing her hair.

"Yeah." Caroline answered knowing how bitchy the action had been now that she really thought about it.

"But why would your mother lie about how long they've been dating?"

"Probably because she thinks it'll protect me and Lexi somehow. I'm done trying to figure out people's motivations I just really want to get to school, so we can prep for that assembly." Caroline responded wanting nothing more than to change the subject."

"You're right. We should probably get going so we can make first period. Ready to go?" she asked Caroline as Klaus chimed up.

"Actually, if you don't mind Elena, I would love to take Caroline to school."

"Suit yourself, do you want a ride to school Rebekah, I would hate being in the car with the two lovebirds if you know what I mean."

"Yeah. Thanks. "Rebekah smiled as they all went to Elena's car, so Caroline could get her dress for the homecoming assembly. Stefan and Damon said their goodbyes as they headed for Stefan's car and Elena and Rebekah went along to school leaving Caroline and Klaus alone to discuss what had just happened.

"Are you okay?" he asked surprising her.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I personally know how hard it is to see your parents dating someone else, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"I'm okay with my mom dating someone else. I'm just not okay that she lied to me and Lexi about how long they had actually dated."

"Can you blame her Caroline? I mean do you tell your mother the truth about everything that goes on in your life?"

"No but dating someone who's not my dad is a pretty huge deal."

"Just like dating someone who has a kid is a big deal for your mother, but you kept that from her too."

"Klaus. I was eventually going to tell my mother about us, but my mom and I don't have the relationship where we tell each other everything. I didn't want to tell my mom about us yet, because we barely gave into our feelings for each other yesterday. Of course, I was going to wait. I'm in no way ashamed that I'm dating you. I'm not ashamed that you have a kid and a baby mama that might come back at some point just like you're not ashamed that I'm trying to be friends with the guy who I used to be friends with benefits with. Now I'm willing to give this relationship a shot, but if you're still on the fence about it then that's okay too. Don't answer it now. Just wait until the end of the day and then make your decision. I'll respect you for whatever you decide."

Taking her by surprise, Klaus placed his lips on hers, her eyelids fluttering closed as she kissed him back. Man, His kisses made her world stand still just for one moment until he pulled away smiling.

"I think deep in my heart I already know what I'm going to choose."

"We better get to school." She smiled grabbing his hand as they made their way to his car.

"I don't know why I feel so nervous, I'm not even on the homecoming court." Caroline said as she added another coat of mascara looking at herself in the mirror feeling prettier than she had in a while.

The dress she had chosen for today was gold halter dress with flower embellishments and black heels. She had to admit she looked amazing.

"It's probably because you're nervous for tonight. Are you planning on taking things to the next level with Klaus?" Elena teased curling the last strand of her usually straight hair.

Elena herself was in a simple black dress with a small cutout and heels as her makeup seemed done to perfection. She would be floored if Elena didn't at least get second place.

"If by next step you mean becoming an actual couple, I've already let him know where I stand so the rest will be up to him."

"Well let's hope he makes the right decision. I don't want to kick another guy in the balls again."

"I'm pretty sure Klaus isn't Stefan."

"That's for sure, Stefan never really did any romantic gestures for you except the first-time you guys met."

"You know Stefan, he's not one for romance, especially when it comes to me."

"Well luckily for you, Klaus seems a lot more romantic."

"Lucky me." She smiled as Camille came into the room looking like a walking talking mascot for Mystic Falls High showing Elena and the other girls that she was serious about winning this thing. Setting her bag on the floor she bent down to retrieve her dress as she looked at Caroline and Elena giving them a slight smile as if yesterday hadn't happed.

"Looking good ladies." She said stripping her clothes off as Caroline looked away not wanting to see how perfect her body much have been.

When Camille was changed, Caroline noticed her beautiful white less dress making her look more angel then human as Caroline started to feel a lot smaller in her dress. Why would Klaus be amazed by Caroline when he had Camille to look at.

"You look amazing Camille." Rebekah smiled looking exquisite in her red strapless dress.

"Thanks. Your dress is gorgeous."

"Thank you."

About an hour later, one of the teachers escorted them to the gym as Caroline meet up with Klaus looking her up and down in amazement. She had to admit he looked pretty dashing in his suit making her feel weak all over.

"Wow. You look_" he started

"You look- "She started

"Perfect." they finally said in unison smiling at each other.

"Are you ready for your big moment?" she asked smiling at him

"As ready as I can be."

Smiling Klaus was taken to the guys side of the gym as Caroline joined the ladies preparing herself for her job as Klaus's escort.

"Good afternoon, Timberwolves, are you guys ready to see won your homecoming king and queen!" Davina announced through the mic as the crowd cheered." In that case, Let's bring out your homecoming court! First up, we have Bonnie Bennett escorted by Luka Martin."

Bonnie crossed the gym path waving at everyone in the crowd as Luka took her arm and walked her up the gym floor until they were to their location.

"Next up we have Enzo St John with his escort Maggie James."

"Vicki Donavan with her escort Jeremy Gilbert."

"Matt Donavan with his escort April Young!" Davina said as she noticed that Rebekah was giving Matt a look like she thought he was cute. She wondered if there was going to be a thing between those two.

"Rebekah Mikaelson with her escort Marcel St Gerrard."

Rebekah looked radiant as she crossed the floor seeming as if she belonged up there even if she did just barely get there. She wished that she could be that confident.

"Tyler Lockwood and his escort Liv Parker."

"I'm next. Wish me luck." Elena replied with a wink as she waited for Tyler to get done so they could call her name.

"Elena Gilbert with her escort Damon Salvatore." Davina announced as a bunch of whoops went into the air not knowing if they were for Elena or Damon. They were both attractive people and looked perfect together as Elena looked radiant almost like the epitome of perfection.

From the other side of the gym, Caroline saw Stefan step up as Lexi stood up straighter looking radiant and glowing in her lilac purple dress as she imagined her smile was bigger than ever. Stefan had that effect on her, and Caroline was glad that he could at least make someone happy. Even if it wasn't her.

"Stefan Salvatore with his escort Lexi Forbes!" Davina cheered as the crowd went ballistic.

Stefan gave a slight wave to her as she waved back. He took Lexi's arm as her smile glowed lighting up the room. She loved seeing her sister so happy. She hoped it would continue.

"Next up Camille O Connell with her escort Vincent Griffith!"

Same as Stefan roars went up in the crowd as Camille walked out onto the floor looking the same as Elena did. The only difference was that she did own the room. Everyone loved Camille here and if she didn't win everything, she was nominated for Caroline would be shocked. Camille deserved this crown. There was no question about it.

Getting her mind off Camille and Stefan, Caroline straightened as she saw Klaus getting ready from afar. Suddenly the world went away and every single and doubt she had felt ceased to exist. Sure, she still had mad nerves, but with Klaus there she knew that everything would be okay.

"And finally, we have Klaus Mikaelson with his escort Caroline Forbes." Quite a few cheers went up as Caroline blocked out all the noise straightening up and walking like Elena had taught her to, giving a genuine smile reserved just for him as their hands connected sending a spark of joy throughout her body as they walked towards the rest of the group as Klaus squeezed her hand and whispered to her.

"You are absolutely stunning Caroline Elizabeth Forbes."

"What can I say, you bring out the best in me."

Smiling Caroline and Klaus finally made it to the standing point as they waited for Davina to finish up.

"Let's all give a hand to your homecoming court!"

Cheers went off in the gym as the energy in the room traveled and Caroline felt like she could belong here. Maybe in another life she had been.

"Alright everyone. Here are the results! Let's see who you chose as your homecoming queen and king! Your 4th runner up is Matt Donavan and Rebekah Mikaelson."

Shrugging at her minor loss, Rebekah took Matt's arm as they got their sashes and Rebekah got a single rose as the crowd cheered them on. Hell, it was an accomplishment just to get nominated. God knows she wasn't.

"Your 3rd runner up is Tyler Lockwood and Vickie Donavan. "

"Your 2nd runner up is Bonnie Bennett and Enzo St John."

"Your 1st runner up is Elena Gilbert and Klaus Mikaelson."

"Guess that's my cue." Klaus said as Caroline cheered him and Elena on. Even if it wasn't the winner, Klaus had still got second place which was better than she could expect, and her best friend was second. She knew it wasn't the win she wanted but it was still a fantastic win.

"Which means your Homecoming Queen and King are Camille O Connell and Stefan Salvatore!" Davina exclaimed as the biggest cheer Caroline had heard surrounded her and Camille and Stefan got crowned. She found herself clapping as hard as the others. Even if Camille and Stefan weren't her favorite people, she knew that they had worked the hardest for this and they were finally being rewarded.

When the crowd had died down, everyone took their seats in the front of the stadium as Caroline sat between Elena and Klaus feeling elated for the people who were the most important to her.

"So how does it feel?" she asked. Feeling somewhat giddy.

"Meh. It's not what I wanted to get, but hey at least there's still prom queen. Who knows Care, maybe you'll finally get your nomination?"

"I doubt it, but thanks for the boost to my ego."

"I still feel shocked that I got second place. I didn't even think this many people knew my name."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're actually quite the charming person." Caroline said feeling bold.

"I don't need the title of homecoming king when I already got my prize right here." He said giving her a kiss.

"You two are so cliché, but in a cute way."

As they watched the prep rally, they joked. laughed, and clapped as they just enjoyed their time there that was until the football players were set to give their varsity jackets away.

"Alright Timberwolves are you ready for our pregame tradition?" the crowd cheered. "In that case can I get all the Timberwolves up here to give away their varsity jackets for the night. Now remember girls or guys if you get the varsity jacket you must wear it until the game is over. Alright boys when I call your name give your varsity jacket away. Matt Donavan."

When Matt was called, he crossed the floor and gave his jacket to Rebekah who smiled and put it on giving him a hug. Surprisingly April seemed okay with it. She guessed they were just friends.

As names were called, people were all appreciative of getting the players varsity jackets as finally they saved Stefan for last. Caroline looked over to Lexi who was now talking to April seeming excited.

"Here's your moment girl. It's so obvious he'll give it to you." April smiled as Lexi beamed.

"Finally. I can feel my popularity soaring now. Wish I was a senior this would for sure be a prom queen nomination, oh well I'll take the spotlight for the day instead."

"Stefan Salvatore. Your homecoming king. Who will he pick?" Davina announced as Caroline waited for him to give her sister his varsity jacket there was just one problem, Stefan wasn't walking towards Lexi, he was walking towards…. oh no.

"Shit." She said as Stefan stepped up to her waiting for her to stand up so he could put his varsity jacket on her. What the hell was he doing?

Elena poked her arm telling her that she had to stand up for the assembly to commence as she stood up utter dread filling the pit of her stomach.

She turned around as Stefan put his varsity jacket on her as she turned around and he fixed the collar giving her a wanting look as she looked at him in disbelief when he walked away. Shit. Lexi.

When she turned to where her sister was Lexi stood up shaking her head, tears filling her eyes as she ran away from the gym rushing out of the double doors. Shit. She had to go after her.

"Lexi!" Caroline started rushing towards the door as April stopped her.

"I got her. You've done enough and I think you're the last person she wants to see right now." April spat going after Lexi as Caroline stood there paralyzed wondering what the hell Stefan had just done.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Caroline asked Stefan after the prep rally was over and everyone was heading home to get ready for the parade. She had told Elena and Klaus to go ahead without her, because she had a lot to talk to Stefan about.

"Well, hello to you too Caroline, what can I do for you?"

"You're not serious, are you? Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

"Yeah. I gave you my varsity jacket in a crowd full of people, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that you gave this to me when my sister was expecting to receive it. She's your girlfriend Stefan. How could you do that to her?"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Have you let her in on that fact?"

"Listen Caroline, it's not my fault that Lexi think we're something that were not. I told her that I would be her date to the homecoming dance and nothing else. It's not my fault that she can't comprehend that and if I gave her the varsity jacket then I would never have gotten rid of her. I needed to send her a message loud and clear."

"By embarrassing her in front of the entire school. Seems kind of harsh don't you think."

"I never said I was the best at communicating my feeling Caroline, but I did what I was supposed to, I gave my varsity jacket to the person I wanted to give it to. "

"Why me, out of all the people you could have chose from to send her a message, why would you pick me?" she asked feeling confused.

Before she was aware of what he was doing, Stefan grabbed the plastic crown that was a top of his head and got closer to her placing it on her as she stood there stunned. What the hell was he doing? This was his crown.

"Because when you and Klaus were walking towards the nominees, I saw you for the first time in a while. I saw the confident and beautiful girl that I had once remembered, and I thought to myself that if anyone deserves to be nominated today it would have been you. Not many people see you Caroline, but recently you're all I see. When I picture my future away from this town, away from this school even, it's not with Lexi. It's with you. And I know that's wrong. And I know you'll never love me that way or trust me not to hurt you again, but I wanted you to know that you are the girl that I would have done everything for, because you deserve grand gestures and nominations for stupid high school courts. You deserve a guy who will treat you with respect and gratitude and that's why I stepped down and let Klaus ask you to the dance. Not because I wanted to ask Lexi, because I knew that you Caroline Elizabeth Forbes deserve better than me. I'm sorry I didn't see you when I had the chance. Because you were worth it, you still are." He said pressing a kiss to the side of her cheek as he pulled back leaving her stunned and walking away while he still had the chance.

"He seriously said that to you?" Elena growled turning the corner and parking her car where everyone had gathered for the parade. Klaus had gone home to go get Hope and when Caroline had come out of the gym, she was greeted by Elena who told her they would go to the parade together.

Caroline had insisted they go to her house to check on Lexi before they went, but Elena had said that they had spoke when she was in the gym and Lexi had told her that she didn't want to see Caroline. At least not for tonight.

"Yeah he did and what's worse is that he doesn't even care how he hurt my sister just like he didn't care- "

"How he hurt you."

"Exactly."

"Listen, there was nothing you could have done to stop what Stefan did and it's not like you can give him back his varsity jacket until after the game, so we might as well just enjoy what time we have left. After all, the day is far from over and it was going quite alright despite a few setbacks. Just keep up the hope and everything should turn out okay. "

"I just hope you're right." Caroline said as she got out of the car and they walked to go meet up with Klaus and Hope.

"Hey." She stammered feeling somewhat uncomfortable wearing Stefan's varsity jacket. She had ditched the crown back at the car not wanting Klaus to see it and make things more uncomfortable for them. Dammit. Why did Stefan have to drive a wedge between them once again. Why couldn't he just allow her to be happy without him?

"Hey." He smiled seeming somewhat forced as he turned his attention back to where the parade was about to come through.

"Are you excited for the parade?" she asked Hope who nodded eagerly in anticipation. Caroline wished she could be that small again. Life was a lot less complicated back then.

Hoisting her on his shoulders, Hope was now high enough to see the parade as Caroline watched with them feeling as if she were intruding on father-daughter time as Elena shrugged beside her. Obviously, he still needed time to get over the assembly. She didn't blame him; Stefan had embarrassed more than Lexi with his gesture, and it seemed that the only one who wasn't paying for it was Stefan.

After the parade was over, Klaus set Hope down as she tugged on his pant leg wanting his attention.

"What is it, Hope?"

"Can Caroline come with us to the game?"

"I don't see why not, but it's up to Caroline." He said giving her an apologetic look.

"Sure. "she said with an awkward smile as they promised to meet up with Elena there.

Driving in silence, Caroline plucked a stray hair off her shirt as Hope sang along to a song in the back and Klaus had concentrated on the road. Something was off here; she just couldn't decide what it was.

Pulling into the parking lot, Klaus, Caroline, and Hope got out of the car gave their tickets to the person working the booth and picked their seats in the stadium when Elena waved them over, Damon sitting by her side. Of course, he would be, she had almost forgot that he was Elena's date to the dance as well.

"Well there's the good luck charm herself, how are you doing Caroline?" Damon asked as she gave him a dirty look.

"Please there is nothing remotely lucky about wearing someone's varsity jacket. It's just some dumb superstition."

"Then why are you still wearing it?"

"Because I don't want to get skinned alive by every Mystic Falls High student out there."

"You got me there."

"We should probably concentrate on watching the game." She said sitting down as the kickoff started.

The game went off without a hitch, it was around the third quarter and they were up 36 to 24 when something happened that she never would have expected. Stefan had caught the ball running with it to try to get yet another touchdown, only this time unlike many others he had someone on his tail. Maybe a little to close to it as the other guy rammed into him so hard that he got knocked down so hard that both Caroline and Damon stood up to make sure he was okay. She may have been so fucking pissed at him, but it didn't mean she wanted him injured.

She had half expected Stefan to get up and just shake it off, only he didn't. Stefan was laying there clutching onto his leg in a grimace as the ref blew the whistle and his teammates and coach surrounded him along with a few medical professionals that were close by. Shit. He was really hurt. What the hell was happening?

"What's wrong daddy? Why aren't they playing?" Hope asked eyebrows furrowed.

"A player is injured baby. They're making sure he's okay."

Sitting back down, they waited on some form of announcement on Stefan as Elena held onto Damon's hand in a comforting gesture. Damon looked like he was about to go down there himself as they loaded Stefan onto a stretcher and into an ambulance as Elena encouraged Damon to go to the hospital with him and she would catch up with him later. He promised to keep them posted on Stefan's condition as he raced to his car to try to catch up with the ambulance that had taken Stefan away.

On the intercom, the announcer had told everyone that Stefan had injured his leg and they were now taking him to the hospital to get it checked out wishing Stefan the best as they continued the game.

Tensions were high for the rest of the quarter, but they had still ended up winning 46 to 30 as Klaus had picked up a now sleeping Hope and they carried her to the car buckling her up in her safety seat.

"I think we've all had a long day. You don't mind if I skip out on the dance, do you? I know you were looking forward to it, but I really need to get Hope home and I'm sure Stefan would really like you to be there for him when he wakes up."

"Klaus, I- "

"Caroline, I'm not mad, I promise. I'm just not in the mood to go to a dance right now and I know you and Elena want to be at the hospital to check on Stefan and keep Damon safe. You're his friend and if I ever want this relationship to work, I must understand that. "

"Yeah, okay. I'll see you in school Monday."

"See you then." He said climbing into his car and leaving Caroline standing there on the verge of tears. This night was not what she had expected at all.

Blowing her nose into the tissue, Caroline shed the last of her tears releasing all the pent up anger and sadness she had been repressing all day as Elena gave her arm a comforting squeezing gesture throwing her used tissues in the waste basket she had stored in her car.

"You don't have to come inside if you don't want to. I can go by myself and you can stay here until we're finished.

"No, Klaus is right. I should be there for my friends." Caroline said as they walked to where Damon had texted to meet him.

Filling them in, Damon had stated that the doctors had said Stefan had broke his leg in two places meaning he wouldn't play for the rest of the season because of the injury. Caroline winced feeling bad for Stefan. She knew he was an ass, but football was the one good thing going for him. He wouldn't get to participate in games that were being watched by recruiters. It must have been a tough pill for him to swallow when he had heard it. She just hoped he was dealing with the news as well as he could.

"He was asking for you." Damon interjected as Caroline sighed.

"You don't have to if you don't want to Care, I know he hasn't been the best to you or Lexi today." Elena interrupted as Damon nodded in agreement.

"I'll go. The situation sucks enough without friends to help you through it. I'll see you guys in a minute."

Nodding, Caroline left them as she went to Stefan's room opening the door as she opened the door to Stefan laying on the bed with his leg elevated in a cast. He turned his head towards her almost stunned that she had showed up.

"Did we win?" he asked surprising her with his question, but of course he would want to know if his injury had been worth it.

"Yeah, we won." She smiled still lingering in the doorframe.

Silence filled the room as they didn't say anything for awhile until he picked up a permanent marker by his bed pulling the cap off as he waved it in her general direction.

"You want to be one of the first people to sign my cast?" he said not feeling like talking as she shut the door tightly behind her and grabbed the marker from him not expecting her night to go like this, but realizing that if she ever wanted things to turn around for her, she had to take things as they were and just go with the flow.

"Sure."


	10. Chapter 10

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 10

After the homecoming disaster, Caroline tried to keep her distance from Lexi, Stefan, and Klaus. She threw herself into her schoolwork and only talked to them when they talked to her, she didn't want to burden them with her problems, and she didn't want to make more of a mess then she already did.

"Are you ever going to stop avoiding them?" Elena asked as she looked at Stefan and Klaus talking. Stefan had now graduated to using crutches for his leg, but he still wasn't one hundred percent yet.

"I'm not avoiding them." Caroline replied turning her face away from Stefan and Klaus. They had seemed to forgive each other quite easily.

"You made me walk the long way to first period, so we didn't run into Klaus. Not to mention pulling me into the girl's bathroom when you saw Stefan coming towards us the other day."

"I already told you I'm sorry about that. I just can't deal with the drama right now. I just want everyone to get along and look over there, they're getting along for the first time in two weeks, so obviously something about it is working."

"How is it working with Lexi?"

"She still refuses to talk to me."

"So, it's like nothing ever happened between you two and she's gone back to being the little sister who could give less of a shit about her older sister's life."

"I guess you can say that."

"Well if you insist on ignoring them then maybe going to practice for the senior showcase may not be such a good idea."

"Shit, I forgot that was today."

"I mean if you want to bail then that's alright, we'll both go to the mall, maybe have a little girl time away from all the drama about the boys."

"I appreciate the offer, but you're right I can't avoid them forever. I might as well get it over with and try to fix my problem while I still have the chance to."

"Well in that case we better get our buts to practice before Ms. Sommers has our ass for being late."

Nodding, Caroline walked with Elena to the auditorium as they walked in on Ms. Sommers talking frantically with one of her students who seemed rather upset as Ms. Sommers nodded understandingly as if agreeing to something as the girl rushed past Elena and Caroline making them wonder what that was about as they took their seat preparing for yet another long rehearsal.

When everyone was settled and Stefan and Klaus had sat right next to them, Caroline stayed silent as Ms. Sommers took the stage ready to start for the day and making Caroline glad that she had an excuse not to talk to either Stefan or Klaus.

"Alright class, we have a change of plans today, I know normally I would love having you all attend practice, but a fellow student has asked me for some assistants helping with the set up for the fall carnival this weekend. Turns out quite a few of the student council members got the flu and now they're searching desperately for volunteers and that's where a few select students will come in. I formulated a list of students here that I find up to par with their performances enough to sacrifice for the day so when I call your name please report to the parking lot where the carnival is getting set up to go and help."

Sitting up straight, Caroline and Elena looked at each other as they waited for Ms. Sommers to make her selection.

"Caroline Forbes, Elena Gilbert, Stefan Salvatore, Klaus Mikaelson, Davina Claire, and Camille O Connell. Congratulations you all are excused to help. The rest of you let's get up on that stage and rehearse the final number one more time. Good luck with the set up everyone. "

Exhaling in frustration, Caroline, Elena, Stefan, Klaus, Davina, and Camille left the auditorium not really saying much of anything as they walked the halls to get to the parking lot where the carnival was being set up.

"I really don't understand why she would choose you Stefan, you're not even supposed to be walking around with your injury, what makes her think you can set up." Camille bitched as Stefan shrugged.

"Most of the carnival is already set up for this week anyway, they probably just need help with the small stuff besides I'm not that useless with the crutches it just makes it harder to get around sometimes."

"Still it's kind of a bitch move to make you come out here to work."

"I don't mind. It beats sitting in a theater feeling as useless as I would sitting on the bench on the football field. It feels good to be useful for once, even if it is a small thing."

"I guess when you put it that way it makes a lot more sense, but you know your team still loves and supports you even though you can't play right?"

"Of course, I'm glad that more players get the chance to play now, I'm just upset that I can't play with my team for the last time during senior year, this injury cost me a lot more then just a few games you know, so I guess I'm just trying to find the best out of the situation that I've been dealt. "

"I guess that's a good way to go about it. Come on, let's go see what we need to get done." Camille said as the others followed her finally making it over to where the head of student council, Rachel, was writing feverishly on her clip board as her head sprang up to meet them smiling slightly.

"Hello all, I'm Rachel, yet another head of student council besides Camille here, and I'm glad you all could make it. I'll jot your names down here so you can get extra credit and then divide you up to work on a few projects that we need help with. It's nothing too demanding, just little things we need to get the carnival up and running. "

After they had given their names, Rachel had put them all into groups as Caroline was of course out with Stefan. She had no clue why the universe had a twisted sense of humor but apparently her and Stefan would be setting up the balloon popping booth as Klaus and Elena would be going to multiple dollar stores to get some prizes for the games and refreshments for the staff. Elena mouthed sorry as her and Klaus headed to the store leaving her with Stefan as she sighed obviously frustrated.

"We should probably get started with blowing up those balloons."

"Caroline. Wait. Can we talk?"

"What is there to talk about Stefan?"

"Listen I know you're still pissed at me and you have every right to be, but can you please hear me out?"

"Fine. What is this about?"

"I never apologized for what happened at homecoming, I know that I just did whatever I wanted and because of that I ended up hurting you and that was never my intention. All I wanted was to express how I felt about you, but I should have done it in a more private manner. I'm sorry that I hurt your chance with Klaus, and I've talked to him about it- "

"What? Why would you do that?"

"Because I made a mistake and I'm trying to fix it."

"What did you say?"

"I told him that he shouldn't be pissed at you for what I did. I told him that I'm stepping back from you for you two to have the relationship you deserve, and I know I've said that before, but I mean it this time. Getting what I want isn't worth losing you completely, so I'm letting you go, because that's when you do when you love someone. You let them be happy even if you're not the one they're happy with."

"You love me?"

"Yeah, I think so, but none of that matter unless you love me back. Do you?"

"I used to think I did, but now, all I feel is rage and lust, and that isn't love. That's madness."

"In that case, letting you go will be the smartest decision I've ever made."

"What did Klaus think about all this?"

"He doesn't believe me. He thinks eventually I'll change my mind and go after you again, but for right now he knows I'm right about not blaming you. The rest however is up for him to decide. I'm sorry I made such a big mess of your situation."

"I'll forgive you on one condition."

"Anything?"

"As much as I thought you made a mess of my life, you owe a bigger apology to Lexi, whether or not she knew about your intentions before the fact, it doesn't mean that your indiscretion hurt her any less and I can't forgive you if you don't try to make things right with her."

"I agree completely. After we're done here, I'll talk to her. That is if she'll talk to me."

"I have a feeling she will."

"Now that that's over with, we should probably go blow up those balloons before Rachel throws a fit and takes away our extra credit."

"Not going to lie the extra credit would be nice."

"Not that you need it."

"What can I say a little extra help is always nice when considering college applications."

"Have you decided on a college yet?"

"Not yet. I'm torn."

"Between?"

"Emerson, Berkley, Cornell, or the University of Washington."

"Have you got any offers yet?"

"Yes, from all four of them. Some of them wanted me to start my semester this spring."

"Why didn't you take one of the offers? God knows I would want to get out of this hellhole as soon as I could. What made you want to stick it out?"

"Because some small part of me told me I'd regret it if I did. "

"Since when do you listen to gut feelings?"

"When some small part of me said I should."

"So, if you had to pick right now, which one would you pick?"

"Honestly Cornell."

"Prestigious."

"What can I say there was always something that sounded right about it."

"Then you should go to than you should go to that one."

"I guess we'll se when the time gets closer. The other three still have time to impress me when it comes time for touring the campuses."

"Ah yes the best part of being a senior, when you get a week off to tour whatever campuses you desire."

"Which one will you be touring?"

"Whitmore college."

"You want to go to the same college your brother is going to?"

"Well ever since I blew my leg out, I might not have that much choice, I can't afford any college I want to go to without that full ride scholarship I was expecting from football, so I may be stuck here."

"I really am sorry about that."

"Strangely enough getting injured put a lot of things into perspective for me, like how much of an asshole I was being to you, Klaus, and Lexi. Fame isn't worth it when you're lonely and friendless, so I must change. Everyone does at some point in their lives so why shouldn't I start now. "

"That's a mature way to think about it."

"I'm more mature then I let on sometimes, now come on let's go blow up balloons I want to suck on that helium and make my voice high pitched." He added as Caroline laughed following him to the booth.

"You seem like you're having fun." Klaus smiled as Caroline stood up covered in paint spills as Stefan inhaled yet another balloon of helium.

"I'll leave you two alone to talk." Stefan answered in a high pitch voice releasing the balloon he had been holding as he walked over to where Elena was unloading the last of the stuff out of the car.

"Hey." She smiled stepping closer to him not sure of what exactly to say after the homecoming fiasco

"Hey." He smiled back looking around at the booth that was almost complete. "It's looking pretty good in here."

"Yeah, despite Stefan's multiple breaks in an attempt to humor me using the helium in the balloons, we managed to get a good chunk of this done."

"It seems like it might be a fun thing to do here."

"Yeah the carnivals here tend to be the best."

"I wouldn't know I've never been to one."

"Have you ever wanted to go to one? I mean this one may be a good start to pop your carnival cherry."

"Of course, that's actually what I came here to ask you."

"Oh. What did you want to ask me?"

"Ugh, I know these past two weeks haven't been the best for us and that may be somewhat my fault because I've never been good at fully expressing my feelings, but I guess I got jealous over you and Stefan and I took it out on you, which was a shitty thing to do all things considered. I was jealous over something so stupid and I ruined our date because you reacted to him getting hurt which was a bullshit reason and I've never been sorrier in my life, so I wanted to make it up to you. I want to take you out on a real date as a real couple. What do you say? Do you want to go to the fall carnival with me Caroline Forbes?"

"I'll accept on one condition."

"Anything."

"You bring Hope so she can go to the carnival too. I know you were telling me that you never really get enough time with her and this carnival is the perfect opportunity."

"I think that's a great idea. What time should I pick you up?"

"Six seems like an appropriate time."

"Sounds perfect." He smiled as Caroline felt like fate was finally on her side.


	11. Chapter 11

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 11

"I need your help." Caroline urged Elena as she slid into her desk during second period the following Friday feeling her anxiety reach a full time high.

It had been a while since she had been on a real date and she wasn't good at these kind of things like Elena was. She had already messed up once and she didn't feel the urge to that once more, so she was doing the one thing she thought she would never do in her lifetime. Turning to Elena for advice.

"What's got you so stressed? I can seriously see your armpit sweat through your sweater and I know that's a definite sign that you're nervous about something. Spill."

"Shit." Caroline said as she grabbed her jacket putting it over her sweater to cover the pit stains that she had accumulated throughout the day from being in a constant state of worry. She hated this stupid feeling. "I guess I'm just nervous."

"About?"

"Well you know how we have the fall carnival tomorrow."

"Of course, I have a date for it." She smiled shocking Caroline. She hadn't mentioned this.

"With who?"

"My lips are sealed on that one Forbes, now stop getting distracted and tell me what's got you so nervous."

"I may also have a date to the fall carnival."

"Shut up, who's the lucky guy Salvatore or Mikaelson?"

"It's Klaus. He wanted to redo our date because of the whole homecoming debacle."

"And you're nervous that it may not work out the way you want it to?"

"Well yeah, wouldn't you be nervous if your last date was so much of a disaster that you had to try again. I just don't want to mess this up. I can have a good thing here and I don't want to waste it."

"You won't Care, trust me when I say you got this. Mikaelson adores you and he would be an idiot if he didn't give this relationship a chance."

"Thanks Elena, I don't know what I would do without you."

"Not a clue, now the real question is what are you going to wear?"

"I was actually hoping you could help me with that. I'm utterly hopeless when it comes to fashion and I want to rock his world on this date. Will you help me?"

"It'll be my pleasure." Elena grinned making Caroline feel elated. It was really happening. She was going on her first real date with Klaus Mikaelson and this time she wasn't going to let anything stand in her way.

"Wow, you look…. incredible" Klaus responded as he finally settled on a word that fit his perfect description of her as she climbed into his car with Hope eagerly anticipating the carnival in the back seat.

"Thank you. You don't look too shabby yourself." She said looking down at the outfit Elena had chose for her and smiling.

Usually when it came down to outfits that Elena picked for her, Caroline would frown slightly, shake her head, and go with whatever she felt would fit her better, but now that she was on an actual date and finding out how much she didn't like the outfits in her closet, she had recruited Elena's help for shopping so they could find the perfect outfit with the exception that it would be something that Caroline would be likely to wear again and she must say that this had definitely hit all her check points.

The outfit they had ended up choosing was a cream colored off the shoulder sweater with a nice pair of jeans and a pair of brown high-rise boots. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail while her lips were painted red pulling the whole outfit together. She had to admit that she did love this outfit. She would be wearing it again.

"Are you ready for the carnival?"

"Oh, I've been more than ready for this carnival. It's one of my favorite things to do in the fall."

"In that case this date should be fun. I've never been to a fall carnival. "

"I hope you love it as much as I do or have fun at least."

"Well I'm sure that if I'm there with you it'll be great."

Smiling, Klaus put the car in drive, and they headed off to the carnival ready to have some real fun.

"What should we do first?" Klaus asked as he linked his hand with hers sending shivers down her spine and making her feel giddy.

"Well they have a lot to do here. We can carve pumpkins, go on a hayride, they also have game and rides here, or we can take Hope to get her face painted. It's really up to you."

"Well I see a make you own caramel apple booth, we can try that first. If you like caramel apples that is."

"I love caramel apples."

Making their way over to the caramel apple booth, Caroline caught a glimpse of two familiar faces as she smiled and made her way over to them.

"Hey Elena, what's up? Damon nice to see you again." Caroline teased as the two pulled apart, Elena's lips swollen from kissing.

"Oh, hey Caroline. I didn't expect to see you here so soon. Hi Klaus." She smiled before seeing Hope and smiling. "Is this your daughter?"

"Yes, this is Hope. Hope this is one of my friends Elena and her friend Damon." He said introducing his daughter to them who shook both their hands then went back to her dad nervous.

"So, is this official?" Caroline asked with a little bit of teasing to her voice.

"Yeah. It is." Elena smiled holding Damon's hand and squeezing.

"That's amazing." She smiled feeling genuinely happy that Damon and Elena had finally got over their waiting game and finally decided to make a go of it.

"So, are you guys making caramel apples?"

"Yeah. It seemed like a pretty interesting first thing to do."

"Well I hope you guys enjoy your time here. I'll see you in school on Monday Care."

"See you then." Caroline smiled leaving Damon and Elena to their date as she went back to hers grabbing an apple and placing it on a skewer so she could dip it in whatever she wanted to.

"Melted Jolly ranchers?" Klaus asked seeming confused.

"Yeah it was a trend a couple of years back, so they included it here."

"It seems like a waste of jolly ranchers, because the apple wouldn't be editable."

"Well I guess it would be a good Instagram moment if anything else."

"So, what do you want to put on your apple?"

"I guess you'll just have to wait and the end and see. Wouldn't want you to take my idea."

"well then what do you say we make things interesting."

"What did you have in mind?"

"how about the person who makes the best caramel apple gets to choose what we do next?"

"Alright. You're on." She laughed as they went to go make the best caramel apple they could.

"I don't know, who do you think won?" Klaus asked holding up his apple which he had decorated with chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers as Caroline inspected her Oreo inspired apple smiling slightly. The apples were both pretty impressive, so she wasn't sure who would determine who would win.

"I'm pretty sure Hope did." She smiled as she looked at Hope's apple which was now covered in every candy that she could possibly get her hands on.

"Yeah I think she did. I guess our bet is null and void."

"Or we can just let Hope choose what we do next."

"That works. What do you say, Hope? What do you want to do next?"

"Face paint!" Hope exclaimed as she grabbed her apple and Klaus and Caroline took her to the face painting booth where Camille was working.

"Hey Klaus. Caroline. Is this Hope?"

"Yeah. This is her." Klaus smiled as Hope looked up at him with the biggest grin.

"Well what does this beautiful girl want painted on her face?"

"A pumpkin!" she exclaimed happily as Hope made her way onto the chair sitting patiently as Camille painted her face.

"There you go sweetie, you're all done."

"Thank you!" Hope smiled as she jumped down to go back to Klaus and Caroline. "Look at my pumpkin daddy, Isn't it pretty."

"It's beautiful baby. Did you want some hot chocolate?"

"Yeah!" Hope smiled as they went to the hot chocolate bar and made their own. She had to admit that it was quite the night and it wasn't even over yet.

When they had finished their hot chocolate, they had gotten through bobbing for apples and their fall themed jars. Caroline would be keeping hers to remember this night.

The next thing they had walked to a pie eating contest that Klaus wanted to participate in as Caroline told him she would watch Hope while he concentrated on winning.

"Do you like my dad?" Hope said suddenly as Klaus shoved his whole face in the pie going at it as Caroline tried to concentrate on both.

"Yeah. I do."

"Good. He needs a nice person in his life. I don't think my mommy is a very nice person."

"I'm not sure sweetie. That's something that only your daddy can answer."

"Okay. I just wanted to let you know that I'm happy you're in my daddy's life. And in mine. I hope you don't leave us like everyone else has."

"I don't know what will happen with me and your daddy Hope, but I'll always be one call away."

Looking back at the pie eating contest, Caroline saw that Klaus was almost through his pie as his head popped up signaling his win as Caroline and Hope cheered him on.

"Way to go Daddy!"

"Whoo!" Caroline clapped as Klaus wiped his face leaving some pie on it as he returned to them with a stuffed dog as a prize handing it to Hope.

"Thanks daddy. I love you."

"I love you too baby. What do you say we go carve some pumpkins?"

Hope smiled seeming a little bit more tired as the night went along. It was obvious that she would want to go home soon, and Caroline didn't mind wrapping the night up on a high note.

When the turned the corner to the pumpkin carving booth, Caroline stopped in surprise as she saw Elena, Damon, a girl she didn't recognize, and Stefan seeming like they were having fun together. Was Stefan trying to get back out there again? If so, she was proud that he was at least trying to find someone that wasn't her or her sister. She would ask him who the lucky girl was, but she didn't want to bother him when he looked like he was having a good time.

"Before you say anything, her name is Ivy and she's in mine and Stefan's history class. I'm the one who set them up."

"Really? Klaus Mikaelson the matchmaker. It's got a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"So, him being with another girl doesn't bother you?"

"Not in the slightest. Everything is just how it should be." She said as he pulled her close and gave her a kiss.

"Ick. Gross." Hope said as Caroline and Klaus pulled apart ready to enjoy the rest of their night.

After taking Hope on a hayride that tuckered her out, Klaus lifted her off the hayride carrying her in his arms as Caroline and Klaus headed to his car stopping all of a sudden by a stack of hay saying photo booth as Klaus took his phone and sitting down on a hay bale with Hope as she opened her eyes seeing his phone out and smiled while Caroline joined them resting her head on Klaus's shoulder.

"A photo to remember this amazing night." He said holding it up as they all bunched together and took the picture to keep for themselves. Always.

"I'm going to put her to bed." Klaus said as they entered his house and Caroline sat on the couch ready to end their night with a movie before she went back home for the night.

"She's out like a light." Klaus said coming back into the living room and sitting down next to her. "Are you hungry? I could make us a snack."

"Sure. I'll take whatever you can make." She answered as Klaus came back moments later with a bowl of popcorn with a bunch of sides.

"What's this?"

"Let's just say I was inspired by the carnival and made us our own little popcorn bar."

"Creative. I love it."

"So, are you ready to end this night on a high note?"

"It already has."

"I take it you enjoyed your night?"

"Let's just say I can get used to this." She smiled as Klaus kissed her showing her that he could get used to it too.


	12. Chapter 12

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 12

When it came to October, Caroline loved everything about it from the new horror movies and television shows that came out to the haunted houses and parties where everyone seemed to have a good time. October was the shit, but there was one thing about October that Caroline hated more than anything in the world….

"Happy Birthday!" voices around her shouted as Caroline sprung up in her bed to see her mother, sister, Elena, and Howard surrounding her bedside a cake in her mother's hands

Caroline groaned wishing she could control time and fast forward through this day as she threw the covers over her head hoping that everyone would just go away and leave her to rest for the rest of the day.

"Go away." She moaned as the covers were pulled off her by Elena who crossed her arms over her chest telling her that she should be grateful so many people cared about her birthday even if she didn't.

Sighing, Caroline sat up taking the cake from her mother that had the candles lit as they stood there eager for her to make a wish.

"What are you going to wish for?" Her mother asked as she looked at her exasperated.

"To stay at home in bed instead of going to school today." She smiled making her mother's smile falter slightly.

"Nice try, but you're not sick and there's such a thing called truancy court, so you're going to school whether you like it or not."

"Fine." She groaned and blew out her candles not bothering to make a wish as she got out of her bed and looked at everyone there. "I'll be down in a minute, but I really need you guys to get out so I can get dressed."

"Don't forget to dress in something nice. This is your birthday. Not just some normal day." Elena reminded her as they all walked out of her room leaving her to her own devices.

Stretching out her torso, Caroline walked over to her closet as she opened it and looked at it shocked. There was a gift in there that Elena must have snuck in there when she was asleep, because there was a huge box with a wear me attached to it as she roiled her eyes opening the box lid to see what Elena had gotten her for her birthday and surprised when there was more than one outfit in there.

"Shit, Elena." She said as she looked at each one blushing fiercely when she pulled out the last one about ready to kill Elena.

The first outfit Elena had gotten for her was a black cropped sweater with a checkered black and yellow skirt that was perfect for the fall and school appropriate with black tights and booties that she had to admit was an adorable outfit. The second outfit was an outfit for later according to Elena as she picked up the one red dress that she didn't know if she would look good in or not as she blushed fiercely at the next item. A matching set that included a strapless black bra and black underwear as she read the note that said 'in case you want to have a little fun with Klaus later' it said as Caroline crumbled it up and threw it in the waste basket turning her face tomato beat red. It was way too soon for them to be thinking about any of that and if she didn't hurry up she would be late as she shoved the remaining items back into her bag and put them up in the closet getting ready for school and hoping that nothing else embarrassing would happen today.

"You can't be serious." Caroline said climbing into Elena's car with her cheeks still flushed.

"What? You didn't like your gifts?" Elena asked with a smug smile on her face.

"Why did you give me a bra and panties for my birthday?"

"I thought it was obvious."

Caroline glared at her making her sigh.

"Listen I know you and Klaus are getting closer and I've seen your various bra and underwear collection that is just kind of embarrassing to tell you the truth, so I thought I'd help you out just in case tonight ends up with you and Klaus, you know, doing it."

"Jesus Elena, Klaus and I are not having sex tonight. We just barely started dating and I don't want to rush things with him, hell he doesn't even know that today is my birthday so please don't tell him."

"Oops." Elena commented as Caroline's eyes widened.

"What do you mean Oops?"

"I may have mentioned to Klaus that it was your birthday today. My bad, I thought you would want him to know."

"Who else did you tell?"

"I may have mentioned something to the drama club, the student council, and all of our other friends."

"Why would you do that? Unless…. Elena, tell me you're not having a surprise party for me tonight."

"Fine, I won't tell you I'm having a surprise party for you tonight."

"Elena." Caroline whined putting her head in her hands in frustration. Why the hell was everyone making such a big deal about her birthday today?

"Before you bitch about it, I would just like you to know that everyone is looking forward to the party tonight and I know you'll have fun."

"You know I don't like parties. The crowds get to me way too much."

"That's why Damon and Stefan generously volunteered their house for the party."

"Was their father alright with that?"

"He's on a business trip this week and told the boys that they could have a party if they wanted to, they just had to make sure that everything was under control. We also decorated the backyard as well just in case you wanted to have most of your party out there. Come on Caroline, just try having a big party just for once. It's the last time we get to celebrate your birthday together before we go to college and I want it to go off with a bang."

"Alright fine, but if I start panicking halfway through my party, you're taking me home."

"Deal. I promise you won't regret it Caroline."

"Why do I have a feeling you may be wrong about that?"

"Cause you need to tell your anxiety to shut the fuck up." Elena smiled as she smiled back.

"Ha. Very funny." She answered as they pulled into the school to see Stefan and Klaus talking holding presents in each hand. This was going to be a long day.

"I take it Elena threatened to shank you both if you didn't bring me a present today?" Caroline asked as her and Elena met up with Stefan and Klaus, who looked at both of their presents now feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"Something along those lines." Stefan answered rubbing at his neck and giving her an apologetic look.

"Not me, I just found it appropriate to give my girlfriend a gift for her birthday." Klaus answered giving her a small peck on the lips before pulling away.

"Alright. Fine. What did you guys get for me?"

Klaus smiled pulling out a single rose as Caroline took it giving him a slight smile.

"Oh, a rose, how lovely." She got out trying to appreciate that she got at least something.

"Do you not like roses?" he asked seeming embarrassed.

"Her favorites are sunflowers." Stefan answered making Caroline blush that he had remembered that as he handed her his bag as she opened it up and sure enough there was a necklace with a sunflower on it. He had remembered. Shit.

"Well now I just feel cliché." Klaus answered as he handed her a small but long box tied off with a delicate white satin bow.

"Klaus, the packaging is beautiful. What is it?"

"I guess you'll just have to open it and find out."

Smiling, Caroline carefully unwrapped the satin ribbon holding the box together and lifted the top to see a gorgeous silver bracelet sitting there.

"It's stunning." She breathed not wanting to put it on in fear that she would lose it at school.

"You don't have to wear it right now. Elena and I coordinated on the bracelet so you could wear it at dinner tonight."

"She already knows about the party Klaus; we don't need to have a cover story anymore."

"Well in that case, I would very much appreciate it if you would wear this bracelet to the party tonight. That is if you want to."

"I would love to. Thank you so much for the gift." She replied giving him a brief kiss as she turned towards Stefan giving him a hug that surprised me. "Thank you for the necklace Stefan, I love it. I can't wait to wear both tonight."

"So, you're going? Elena won't have to drag you by the hair to get you over to my house?" Stefan asked humorously.

"I guess I am." She smiled pulling away from their hug and taking Klaus's hand. Finally, there seemed to be no bad blood between the two.

"Stefan!" a shout from the quad yelled as they turned to see Ivy waving at Stefan who gave her a one moment sign as he turned back to them.

"Great. If I don't see you later today, I'll see you at my house for the party and I hope you have a great birthday." Stefan smiled waving at them as he crossed the quad to meet up with Ivy.

"He has such a crush on her." Elena teased as Caroline looked at Klaus happy. She got the feeling of having a new crush.

"I'm glad that he's found someone who can put him in his place. Is she coming tonight?"

"Only if you want her to, Stefan wasn't sure if he could invite her or not, so he didn't bother to ask until you gave the go ahead." Elena answered.

"Well tell him not to worry about it, she's more than welcome to come if she wants to."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it Care, I'll text him now and tell him the good news."

"Tonight, is going to be amazing, for everyone involved." Caroline answered squeezing Klaus's hand as they walked into the school.

"Do you want to cut out for lunch today and go eat some real food?" Klaus asked as Caroline handed a book to a student and they exited out of the library.

Caroline lifted a stack of books ready to return them. If she didn't know any better, she thought they were developing this strange new habit of him visiting her at her volunteer job. It was what she was looking forward to the most.

"Usually I would say no, but I think you could persuade me." She teased not being that serious as he chuckled.

"It'll get you away from the big happy birthday everyone is going to sing to you at lunch today, but if you want to be subjected to that horror than by all means, let's just have lunch here."

"Wait. What. Tell me she isn't planning on doing that and you're just joking with me."

"You know Elena. What do you think?"

"Well in that case, get me out of this hell hole and please do it as fast as you can."

"Your wish is my command. Meet me at my locker after you're done here and then we could go."

"Sounds like a plan." She smiled as he gave her a brief kiss goodbye and she sat back down in her chair getting back to work.

"Caroline." Ms. Laughlin said as Caroline looked up and saw her waving her over to office. Shit. She hoped that she wasn't in trouble.

"Is everything okay, Ms. Laughlin?"

"Yes dear, I just heard from a little birdy that today is your birthday. Any special plans for tonight?"

"Just a party that I'm not even sure I'm going to enjoy."

"Why go to it then? It's your birthday, you don't have to party if you don't want to."

"Because I'm doing this new thing where I actually experience my life instead of running off and screaming every time, I find something the least bit uncomfortable."

"Well good for you then, was that boy I saw out there with you a part of your new vision on life?"

"You can say that. We just started dating, but so far it's one of the best relationships I've had."

"I hope that he ends up treating you right Caroline. You deserve a good and stable relationship, just don't rush it. If I could give you one piece of advice, it's that. I know it feels difficult to do so when you're young and all these feelings and emotions are bubbling up inside you, but the brighter the flame the more chance it has of snuffing out. Let it be a slow burn. Fill this new love with passion and not necessity. Does that make sense?"

"In a way it makes perfect sense. Thank you, Ms. Laughlin. I really don't want to mess this up. I want this relationship to work and not be messy like the others before it."

"As long as you're careful Caroline it won't be. Now before I forget, I got you something." She said rustling around in her desk and giving Caroline a bookmark making her smile slightly.

"I love it. Thank you."

"Now go ahead and go meet up with your boyfriend. And have a great birthday Caroline. I look forward to hearing about it on Monday."

"Of course. I'll tell you all the details on Monday. Goodbye Ms. Laughlin."

Nodding, Caroline got out of the library and went to go meet Klaus by his locker hoping that Elena didn't catch her in the process.

"Thank you for taking me out to lunch, I needed that." She said climbing back into Klaus's car as he turned to her giving her a long and lingering kiss.

"I figured you needed a little alone time for your birthday today. I know you hate getting overwhelmed by crowds so I thought I could give you something to get you through the rest of the day."

"It worked." She smiled giving him a kiss full of passion which he responded to eagerly.

Their kisses steamed up the windows as Klaus leaned her a bit forward thing had never gotten this heavy between them before, but she was shocked that she didn't mind it. His kisses were intense. Passionate. Alluring. Everything underneath the Tuscan sun as he pulled away looking around to make sure they were alone.

"Do you want to get in the back seat?" he asked, his breath hitting the back of her ear sending shivers down her spine.

"Do you think that's a good idea? We're in a public parking lot where anyone could see us."

"You're right. I don't know what came over me. Let's get back to school."

"We can do it tonight." She blurted causing him to look at her.

"What?"

"I mean we can sneak away tonight and have some alone time. I think I would enjoy it in the mist of all the craziness."

"I'd like that. Alright, at some point tonight I'll whisk you away from that crowd and we'll see where this goes."

"Okay."

"Okay." She laughed somewhat nervous.

"We should really get back to school." Klaus said turning over his engine as Caroline exhaled. What the hell had she just done.

Sighing on her bed, Caroline looked at herself in the mirror not sure what to do, school had been long since over and she only had a few hours until her party, but she didn't really feel like getting ready for it. She was too nervous.

"Why are you sitting on your bed in a towel?" Lexi asked standing at her door frame wearing a black dress that looked radiant on her.

"What are you so dressed up for?"

"I have a party to go to. Yours to be exact, so why the hell aren't you dressed yet?"

"I'm nervous."

"About what exactly? It's just a stupid party, Elena has dragged you to plenty."

"Yeah, but I'm never the center of attention. She is."

"For fucks sake. Can I ask you something?" she asked strutting in her high heels into Caroline's room and sitting on Caroline's bed. Why the hell did Lexi look like a supermodel and Caroline paled in comparison.

"Sure."

"Did it feel good when you were out there being Klaus's escort?"

"Well yeah I was nervous at first, but at the end it actually felt…. I don't know good."

"The take that feeling you felt out on that floor and use it at the party tonight. Be the bold and confident person I know you can be. Just try for once, you might be surprised at what you could accomplish."

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Let's just say I'm turning over a new leaf. Now why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?"

"How do you know there's something bothering me?"

"Because I'm your sister and I can tell your nervous about way more than a party. Now spill. I'm all ears."

"Fine. It's about Klaus."

"What about him?"

"I can't believe I'm sharing this shit with my sister, but we were getting hot and heavy in his car and then he asked me if I wanted to take it to the back seat and I told him it might be a bad idea to do that in a public parking lot and then I just blurted out that maybe we could find a private spot to do it tonight."

"Wait. You're thinking about having sex with Klaus? Didn't you two just get together like three weeks ago?"

"Exactly, which is why it think telling him that was a mistake. Do you think it was a mistake?"

"I think that's up to you to decide. Now come on, let's get you ready. Unless you want to go to your own party in a towel."

"Lexi." She said as Lexi pulled out the underwear Elena had given her and her dress.

"Yeah."

"Thank you for helping me. I really do appreciate it."

"What are sisters for?" she asked grabbing her makeup bag and smiling. "Now let's get you ready for that party."

"Wow, you look killer girl. I love your makeup." Elena gushed as Caroline got in the car.

"Thanks, I did it." Lexi exclaimed happily as she got into Elena's car as well.

"What is she doing here?"

"She's coming to the party. So, are we going or not?"

"Of course." Elena gritted over her best fake smile as they pulled out of Caroline and Lexi's driveway to go to Stefan and Damon's house.

The drive there was full of silence as they pulled into the driveway and Caroline gaped at what she saw.

"Holy shit." Caroline exclaimed as she took in the huge barbeque Elena had out in the backyard complete with all the food she could imagine and even an open bar. "How the hell did you get an open bar here without anyone finding out?"

"We got a lot of pullers for tonight. Don't tell anyone though."

"And you even got me a popcorn bar?"

"That was my idea." A voice behind her said as Klaus appeared looking as dashing as ever.

"You clean up well." She replied nearly drooling. "And you're the sweetest, I love the idea of a popcorn bar for my party." Caroline gushed giving him a kiss.

"Well I thought it would be a nice touch."

"I love it. Thank you." She smiled as he grabbed her hand and took her to the food where a couple of friends were waiting to wish her a happy birthday.

"Looking good Forbes." Stefan complimented giving her a quick hug before stepping back and throwing his arm around Ivy.

"Thanks Stefan. Hi. I'm Caroline." She said to Ivy extending her hand which she took and shook in return.

"Hi, I'm Ivy. Stefan's girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you."

"Happy birthday by the way."

"Thank you. I hope you have a great time."

"Thanks. I'm sure we will."

"Have fun." She replied shuffling over to the food. No matter how this night turned out she wanted to do it with a full belly and a healthy attitude.

After everyone was done eating, Elena stood up on one of the tables smiling like she had one of her many ideas to share with everyone.

"What is she doing?" Klaus asked confused for a second.

"Oh, just wait. This should be entertaining as hell." Caroline replied taking a sip of her peach Bellini and waiting to see what Elena would suggest.

"Hey everyone. I hope you all are enjoying the party tonight, but to spice it up and make things more interesting what do you say we play a drinking game?"

"Yeah!" a course of cheers rung out as Caroline smiled ready to see what was going to be picked.

"What do you say Caroline? What game do you want to play?" Elena asked as Caroline smiled.

"How about that game where you spin the bottle and whatever drink it lands on you have to drink it? Only we put it in red cups, so no one knows what it is" Caroline laughed.

"Awesome idea. Let's do this! Come with me to the kitchen Damon, we got to set up the drinks for this game. Maybe even make some special ones" she said getting off the table and grabbing Damon's hand dragging him to the house as Klaus chuckled holding onto Caroline's hand. She wondered when his touch would stop giving her butterflies.

"Are you sure you're up for the game?"

"What can I say drinking takes the edge off a little bit and besides I've played this game. It's actually pretty fun."

"Well in that case, I can't wait to play it."

"Is drinking safe for you tonight? With Hope and all?"

"Elijah had taken Hope for the night. Told me that I needed a night off from everything and I agreed with him, so I'm yours for the entire night."

"Fantastic. Well then let's go play this game."

Sliding his arm around her waist, Caroline and Klaus made their way to the now set up table that everyone had gathered around looking as if they were having a great time. This party was turning out to be great.

"Alright birthday girl. You go first."

"Don't mind if I do." Caroline said with a smile as she spun the bottle and landed on a cup slamming down the drink that burnt like fire down her throat.

"Gross. What the hell is that? Whisky?"

"No. It's bourbon." Stefan laughed apparently; he was in the kitchen when they were making the cups.

"Bourbon is a type of whiskey. Dumbass." She said pointing at him. "Your turn. Salvatore."

"It would be my pleasure." He said spinning the bottle and landing on a drink that tasted just as gross hers did judging by the look on his face.

"What did you get?"

"Must have been the vodka and hot sauce one."

"Man, your ass will feel that in the morning."

"Yeah I'm counting on it. Hey lover boy, want to go next?" Stefan asked Klaus as he chuckled.

Spinning the bottle, Klaus landed on the drink he was going to consume and picked it up giving Caroline a kiss which surprised her.

"For good luck." He said downing his drink as she looked at him for a reaction. There was none.

"I always enjoyed a good pale ale. Nice choice, Elena." He said putting the cup down as Elena spun the bottle resuming the game.

When the game was over, everyone was chilling at the makeshift pool, her head was on Klaus lap as most of the guest had left and only left her, Stefan, Damon, Elena, Klaus, Ivy, Tyler, and Matt. Lexi had opted on coming home for the night telling Caroline that she would cover for her saying Caroline had decided to stay the night with Elena. Caroline nodded waving goodbye at her sister and then they had been chilling their ever since.

"You know what we haven't done in a while." Tyler said looking around at everyone.

"What would that be Tyler?" Elena asked taking another drink from Damon's flask and handing it back to him, she was way passed the point of buzzed and Caroline wondered how the hell she was still awake at this point.

"We haven't got crossfaded yet. What kind of party is it if we don't get faded too? What do you say Caroline? Want to be high as a kite?"

"Sure. Why not? It is a party after all and I've heard weed helps anxiety, so I'm all for it."

"Awesome. Here take a hit." Tyler smiled passing a joint to Caroline as she inhaled it coughing and offering it to Klaus who wasn't taking it.

"Want some?" she asked as he turned his face away from it.

"No thank you."

"Oh, come on bro, It's just a little weed. Live a little." Tyler chuckled taking a pull from his beer as Matt high fived him.

"I have a two-year-old at home to think about at home, if I smoke weed, I could lose my job and I don't need that with her in the picture. So, make fun of me all you want. I have my responsibilities to think about and the kid already has a crack head mother, she doesn't need a screw up for a dad too." Klaus answered making everyone silent as Elena took the joint from her reading the situation and easing the tension.

"Fuck it if he doesn't want it, I'll take it. What do you say Damon? You want to have a little bit of fun tonight?"

"You've read my mind." He said taking the joint and hitting it handing it over to Stefan who also to a drag as a sleepy Ivy passed on a hit. Wanting nothing but to sleep as Stefan stood up picking her up in his arms.

"Ivy and I are turning in for the night. We'll see you tomorrow for breakfast." Stefan answered turning in for the night as the left the others.

"I'm also pretty tired. Come on Ty let's call an uber." Matt said standing up slightly wobbly.

"You read my mind. Night guys enjoy the rest of your night and happy birthday Care, hope it was great."

"It was. Thanks for coming Tyler and Matt. I hope you two enjoyed yourself."

"Of course. Night everyone. Try not to have too much fun without us."

"How could we ever?" Caroline laughed feeling better than she had in months as Klaus sat her up and Tyler and Matt left.

"I think you're a little too cross faded. I think it's time to get you to bed. And same with you two, you look about as dead on your feet as she is."

"Fine. Come on Damon, let's go upstairs. Have fun you two, I know we will." Elena chuckled as her and Damon went into the house leaving Klaus and Caroline alone to their own devices.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asked as she walked over to the edge of the pool putting her feet in the water and letting the coldness shock her awake. She didn't want to go to sleep. At least not yet.

Joining her Klaus sighed as he took his own shoes off joining her by putting his feet in the water.

"I guess when I was offered the weed it reminded me of Hailey and my time with her. It just brought back a lot of bad memories that I would rather forget. I'm sorry I got so defensive about it. I didn't want to ruin your party."

"You didn't ruin anything. You being here only made my party that much better." She said as she leaned in to kiss him but fell in the water instead.

"Shit. Caroline." She heard Klaus say as he dove under the water and pulled her out.

Gagging., Caroline spat out some water she had almost swallowed as she looked down at her dress.

"Shit. My dress is ruined. And my makeup is probably a damn mess. I ruined it. I ruined everything."

"You didn't ruin anything; you just need a good night's rest. That's all."

"Yeah. You're right. I'm sure there's a bedroom somewhere that we could use. Are you sure you don't want to go home? I know you hate being away from Hope for too long."

"She is safe, and I want to ensure that you are, now come along, let's get you to one of those nice and cozy beds."

"What about you?"

"I'll be in the room with you for the night. That is if you don't mind. "

"No, I don't." Caroline smiled as Klaus took her up to the room placing her down as he shut the door.

"Are you okay?" he asked seeing her somewhat confused.

"My clothes are wet; I can't get into the Salvatore's silky sheets with wet clothes on." She said as Klaus scratched the back of his head as he took in his own wet clothes.

"You're right. Wait here," he said opening the door and leaving her alone for what she thought was ten minutes until he came back holding two shirts and two pairs of pajama pants that she recognized all too well.

"You went to Stefan's room?"

"Yeah, it was either bother him or go to Damon and I really didn't want to disturb him and Elena seeing as how I heard moans coming from his room."

"Too much information. Thank you for the clothes."

"Well now that we got the clothes, we have another dilemma."

"What's that?"

"We need to change, and this room doesn't have a bathroom attached to it, so we're going to have to change in here."

"That's okay, we'll just both turn around when we get changed." She replied as Klaus nodded turning around so Caroline could get dressed. She knew he would see her naked eventually but tonight would not be that night.

After she was done changing, Klaus turned back around as Caroline now turned for him to get dressed. After he was done, Caroline turned around smiling as she moved closer to him wondering what would happen next.

"Did you want to sleep with me?" she asked biting her lower lip.

"I don't think having sex is such a good idea when you're intoxicated, Love." He said making her blush and her toes curl.

"That wasn't what I meant. I was just wondering if you wanted to get in the bed too. Trust me when I saw that it's way more comfortable then the floor. "

"Did you want me to sleep in the bed with you? I know that's a big step and I don't want to pressure you into something you're not ready for."

"Trust me when I say that I would love to share this bed with you as long as you're comfortable that is."

Smiling, he crossed the space between them and kissed her lips not in a way that indicated want, but in a sweet and loving way that showed he cared.

"Then by all mean let's get to bed. We wouldn't want to miss breakfast in the morning, now would we?"

"No, we wouldn't" she smiled as they both got into the bed and she rested her head on Klaus chest drifting into a nice peaceful slumber thinking that maybe birthdays weren't the worst thing after all.


	13. Chapter 13

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 13

Author's note: This chapter involves scenes dealing with depression and harmful thoughts as well as the loss of faith. If you yourself are dealing with these struggles, please understand that you are not alone and it is okay to seek help and talk to a trusted adult or friend about it even if it hurts. It does get better. Please never give up hope and remember that you are worth it.

Two Years Ago

"Isn't that a heavenly sight?" Stefan asked as Caroline got out of her downward facing dog position and sighed grabbing a towel to wipe off the sweat on her forehead.

"What the hell are you doing here Salvatore? The class hasn't even started yet." She said grabbing her water bottle and taking a drink of it.

"Well you should know that I'm not even in this class I just came here to talk to you."

"And who the hell told you where I was?"

"Elena owed me a favor."

"Of course, she did."

"Listen Caroline I know you're pissed off, but can you hear me out?"

"You have five minutes, so you better make them count."

"I know I was an asshole the other day. Damon keeps reminding me that sometimes I can be insensitive. I should have told you that I was looking for anything when we first had sex. All I wanted was a good time and I wasn't aware of how hurt you were, so I acted like an ass, because I didn't want you to think we were something that we weren't. I'm sorry how I went about it."

"Is that all?"

"Yeah I guess it is."

"Good. You can show yourself out."

"You're not going to forgive me?"

"Was that supposed to be some sort of apology? Because all it sounded like you wanted to justify why you were an asshole."

"Isn't that what most apologies are? Explanations for why people are assholes."

"Not always. Sometimes people actually mean them."

"Do you think I didn't mean mine?"

"What do you think?"

"What can I do to convince you that I'm sorry?"

"It's not how you say it, it's how you show it, so maybe show me something impressive and I may forgive you."

Before she knew it, Stefan's lips were on hers passionate and fierce before she shoved him away wiping her mouth where he had kissed her. He couldn't be serious right now.

"What the hell!"

"You said I should show you how I'm feeling."

"By taking your apology and shoving it up your ass as you walk away. What the hell did you think would happen when you kissed me after basically insulting me?"

"I don't know I just thought I would try it."

"Well now you can say you tried it again and missed your shot. You can go now."

"Why are you acting like you didn't like it?"

"Excuse me?"

"Come on Caroline, you and I both know you liked it the other night, so why bother fighting it?"

"You're a cocky son of a bitch, you know, that right?"

"Is it working?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Prove it then, kiss me."

"Are you so delusional that you think I would ever kiss you again?"

"Come on what are you so afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid of anything." She answered as she stretched on the tops of her toes to kiss him on the lips.

At first, she thought this would be her definite way of proving to him that he no longer mattered that she no longer gave a shit but the more they kissed the more that proved not to be the kiss. She would have been more than happy to keep kissing those lips of his until the doors swung open and Elena walked in looking on in confusion at what was happening.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked crossing her arms in a challenge as Stefan sighed clutching onto his backpack. Obviously running into Elena wasn't apart of his plan.

"No offense Elena, but I came here to talk to Caroline, not you, so if you don't excuse us, we were in the middle of something and I would like to get back to that."

"No offense Salvatore, but you don't own the yoga studio, so why don't you do what you do best and get out of here. Leave Caroline alone. You've already fucked Caroline over once. Isn't that enough for you?"

"Sorry to break it to you Elena, but Caroline is more than capable of standing up for herself and telling me to go away on her own, so why don't you just stop acting like a helicopter parent and leave us be, because all you're doing is interrupting a personal and private moment. Just like you always seem to. Or is that not your brand?"

"Enough! Both of you! This is fucking ridiculous." Caroline answered suddenly feeling shirt of breath. She had no clue what was happening.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Can't you see that you being here is upsetting her? Just leave her alone you fucking asshole!" Elena insulated making Caroline feel worse.

"And why can't you see that you're suffocating her Elena! Do you really think you need to hold Caroline's hand twenty-four seven because she's grieving her father? As if you could possibly understand what she's feeling. With your perfect life and your perfect family. Why don't you face it, you don't care about Caroline? All you see her as is a person to further your reputation so ignorant people could think of you as a saint. Why don't you just admit it Elena? Or should I tell Caroline about the conversation you and Damon had the other night?"

"What is he talking about?" Caroline asked feeling short of breath as if the room were spinning around her.

"Caroline_" Elena started as Stefan interrupted her feeling as if he finally had the upper hand.

"Go ahead Elena. Tell Caroline how you told my brother that she's driving you up the wall. Tell her how you told Damon that you wished that the grieving part of her dad's death was over, so she could shut up about it, so you could go back to your normal life when everything was perfect for you."

"You're lying. Elena wouldn't say those things. She's my best friend. You're sick for even insinuating something like that. Elena would never say anything so vile and disgusting at my own expense. So why the hell are you lying to me? What did I ever do to deserve it?"

"It's not a lie Caroline. It's the truth. I was drunk and I said some stupid shit to Damon, because I felt like you weren't even trying to have fun. I'm sorry I wish I could take it back." Elena cried as Caroline stared at her in disbelief slowly backing away, feeling as if the world was about to crash on top of her making her feel so small. Her own best friend had said those things. What the fuck was wrong with her?

"Caroline?" Stefan asked feeling the tension in the air as he tried to reach out to her, but she slapped his hand away. She didn't want to see anyone especially not them. Fuck them both. She didn't need this shit.

"Don't fucking touch me you stupid asshole. I don't want to see either of you right now. You both me sick and I hope that you're both happy with yourselves, because instead of helping me like genuine friends do you made me feel that much worse. I hope you're proud of yourselves." She spat as she turned to leave.

"Caroline, wait- "Elena cried, but Caroline wasn't listening she was already out the door leaving the two most toxic people in her life behind.

"Mom!" Caroline cried out as she slammed the door to her house closed hoping she would be there to comfort her daughter like she should have been for a long time, but alas no one was there. Leaving Caroline alone with her grief once more.

Throwing her backpack to the ground causing it's contents to scatter across the floor, Caroline rushed up to her bedroom locking the door so she wouldn't be interrupted as she searched around on her nightstand for exactly what she was looking for as she pulled the pill bottle out feeling like she needed something, anything to numb the pain. She had stopped taking these a while ago, because she felt as if they were making her into a zombie. She hated not being able to be in control of her own emotions, but for right now, she wanted to feel numb, so she popped the pill in her mouth dry swallowing it down as she sat the bottle back on her counter and laid down on her bed turning the volume up on her music and letting the melody and words consume her, so she could think about anything besides how fucked up her life was.

As the hours crawled along, Caroline laid in that position losing track of time and her sense of self as the ugliest thought clouded her head. The thoughts that had haunted her ever since her dad died. The guilt of such an amazing person being taken from this world when someone like her could keep on living. It just didn't seem fair to her. Out of everyone in this world that God had chosen to take, why the hell had he needed her dad? She knew that during times of crisis and loss, most turned to God, but the longer she kept on living the more she lost her faith. There was no God in this world, because if there was there was no way he would let a kind and gentle soul like her father be taken from this cold forsaken earth. It just wasn't logical.

Taking the headphones out of her ear and turning her phone off so no one would bother her, Caroline shed off her clothes wanting nothing more than a bath to try and make herself feel better. Holding in her tears, she made her way to the bathroom turning on the water and letting it run as she sat there staring at it feeling nothing but numb. She hated this feeling all she wanted was for it to go away. Nothing seemed to be helping. Not her friends. Not her family. Not the doctors or the therapist or the stupid medication. Nothing. She was alone. She was hopeless. She had no one to turn to and no one to understand how she was feeling. Sher hated looking in the mirror every single day and seeing a piece of her father staring at her. She hated it all.

Shutting off the water, Caroline took a deep and shaky breath climbing into the tub and letting the water immerse her as she took a deep breath going underneath the water letting it consume her as she let out a muffled scream bubbles rushing up the surface as she let it all go. The pain. The anger., The sadness. She just wanted to fast forward to the part where she felt happy again. She hated feeling like this. All she wanted was to catch a break in all the pain and the loss, but no one was allowing for it to happen to her, she had to stop thinking that some unforeseen force would help her out whatsoever. She had to take charge and do what she needed to do to make herself feel better and damn the consequences.

Grabbing onto both sides of the tub, she pulled herself out from underneath the water coughing and sputtering as she tried to catch her breath. Getting out of the tub and letting her naked body drip all over the linoleum, Caroline made her way into her room grabbing her cellphone and turning it back on ignoring the texts from Elena and everyone else until she found the number she was looking for placing the receiver to her ear as she heard their voice answer on the other end of the phone closing her eyes as she spoke.

"We need to talk. Can you meet me by the train tracks at Whitmore at 8? I really need to see you."

Looking up at the luminescent sky, Caroline heard a crunch of leaves underneath a set of boots as she turned around revealing the person she had called. Stefan Salvatore. He stood there with his hands in his pockets not sure what exactly to say to her as he looked at anything besides her. That was okay, the last thing she wanted to do was talk.

"Caroline, I'm so- "he was about to say as she cut him off with her lips silencing what he was about to say with one action and making his eyes go wide in surprise. Like he hadn't expected that she would call him out here for this. He could be just as naïve about things as she could be.

"I don't want to talk. I just want you to help me forget." She said stripping off his shirt as he lifted her chin and smiled.

"Your wish is my command." He said consuming her with his kisses as he laid her on the ground making her forget her devastation if only for a little while.

Now.

Stirring in the bed, Caroline's eyelids fluttered open as she glanced at Klaus sleeping peacefully beside her as she smiled taking him in. He looked so at peace and she didn't want to interrupt him. It had probably been a while since he had gotten a good night's rest since Hope was born and she didn't want to ruin that.

Turning on her side of the bed, Caroline got out managing not to wake Klaus as she tiptoed out of the room, shutting the door quietly as she turned around and immediately bumped into Stefan holding his toothbrush as he smiled at her looking at her up and down inspecting how she looked in his shirt. It hadn't been too long since she had been wearing his shirt for other reasons.

"Well good morning to you too. How did you sleep?"

"Like a damn baby, but I believe the copious amount of alcohol I had last night had some part in that."

"How's your head?"

"You know me, I have a high tolerance for alcohol, so no headache. Thank God."

"And Klaus?"

"I'm not sure yet. He's still asleep."

"Well he better get up soon or else he'll miss out on this big breakfast we're planning on having before everyone leaves."

"I'm sure he'll wake up on time. It doesn't even seem like anyone is up except us."

"You've got a point there. Even Damon and Elena don't seem to be up yet. "

"Well they had a very long night."

"I take it you heard?"

"I didn't. Klaus did, but I can imagine it wasn't a pleasant thing to hear."

"Whatever makes them happy I guess."

"Is Ivy still in bed?"

"No actually she went back home."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's fine. Her parents just wanted her home, but she'll see us at school on Monday."

"How are things going between you two?"

"I think this is a conversation we have to have over coffee. Come on, I'll make you some and then we can start on that breakfast."

"Sounds like a plan."

Making their way to the kitchen, Caroline and Stefan set up the plates and cups for the breakfast talking about their significant others while they set up.

"I'm thinking about making things official with Ivy." He said as Caroline looked at him surprised.

"I thought you already did so."

"We've been on a few dates, but I haven't asked her to me girlfriend yet. I guess it was never the right time."

"I get the feeling."

"How are things going with you and Klaus? Any new developments on that relationship?"

"We're taking our relationship slow. I think it's good for me and for him if we just see where this goes and try not to force anything."

"Like we did?"

"Yeah, like we did. "she smiled sadly looking in his eyes and seeing sadness there as Elena made her way into the kitchen wearing a button up that Damon was wearing last night with her hair still looking like she just freshly made her way out of bed.

"Good morning, Caroline. Stefan. How did you sleep?"

"Not as well as you and Damon did obviously." Stefan teased as Elena playfully punched him in the shoulder making him wince slightly.

"Is that coffee?"

"Of course, what do you take up for? Unprofessional?"

"For the sake of peace, I won't say anything about that one. Now come on, let's get breakfast ready. Caroline. Why don't you go wake up Klaus so we can start soon?"

"Sure. I'll go see if I can wake him up." She smiled as she left Stefan and Elena alone to go wake up Klaus.

"Hey." Klaus smiled sitting up in the bed as he put his phone down smiling at her.

"Hey. How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well seeing as how this is probably the softest bed, I've ever slept in. What about you? How did you sleep?"

"Great. How's Hope doing this morning? Did she do well without you for the night?"

"Mom said she asked for me once or twice, but they dealt with it and now she's just happy for me to come home later on today."

"I'm sorry you had to miss out on time with her to spend time with me."

"It was your birthday Caroline. What kind of boyfriend would I have been if I had left?"

"Thank you for staying. I do appreciate it. I just feel bad is all."

"Why do you feel bad?"

"Because I feel like there's so much about you that I still don't know. I don't even know when your birthday is."

"That's actually something I wanted to discuss with you. I just didn't want to talk about it in front of everything."

"What's going on?"

"My birthday is on the 27th."

"Of this month? That's quite a coincidence when I think about it. What are your plans for it?"

"That's why I wanted to talk to you about it, my family and I are taking a three-day vacation to go camping for my birthday. I was hoping that you would join us."

"I would love to." She smiled leaning in and giving him a kiss feeling suddenly very excited.

"Well now that that's taken care of, we should probably get to that breakfast before Elena barges in and drags us out here."

"Sounds good." Caroline smiled as she took Klaus's hand and lead him to have breakfast with her friends.


	14. Chapter 14

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 14

"I thought you hated camping?" her mother asked as she perched herself on Caroline's bed while she packed away the last of her things in her suitcase. Klaus was coming to get her in the morning, and she wanted to be prepared.

"I don't hate camping. I just don't go that often meaning I have no real idea what I'm supposed to pack."

"Do you know if they have a cabin or are you guys sleeping in tents?"

"Apparently Klaus's grandfather owns a cabin, so we'll be staying there."

"Well you can strike tent and sleeping bag off your checklist then."

"Well since you're here, do you think you can go over the checklist? You know, like you did when Lexi and I were kids."

"Of course. I already see you brought clothes. Did you pack for cold weather?"

"Of course."

"Bug spray?"

"Definitely. I don't want those pesky mosquitos anywhere near me."

"I take it his family is bringing all the basics?"

"That's what he tells me."

"Did you get your camera to take a lot of pictures? And other things to keep you entertained in your downtime?"

"Check and check."

"Did you grab your toothbrush and toothpaste? The last thing you want is to make out with Klaus with your breath smelling like you ate out of a trashcan."

"Mom!"

"What I know what the teens do now a days."

"His family and daughter will be there."

"You know things like that can still happen while relatives and kids are around so don't try and play me."

"Fine. Fine. And before you ask, I have all my other toiletries already packed and ready to go."

"What about your prescription and other pills?"

Sighing Caroline made her way over to her drawer taking out her anti-anxiety medication that she hated and put it in her suitcase to calm her mother's nerves. If she hadn't had asked Caroline would have just left them there, but it was better to be safe than to be sorry.

"Anything else you could think of?" Caroline asked.

"Did you remember your tampons?"

"Of course, I always keep extra on me just in case."

"What about condoms?" her mother asked causing her to turn around a deep scarlet flooding her cheeks. Had her mother really asked her that?

"No. Why on earth would I need those?"

"Listen Caroline, I know you and Klaus are getting more serious and I want you to be prepared for whatever might happen. Even though I wish you would wait until the time is right, I know you're a teenager and your hormones are throwing you out of whack. And we both know that you're no longer a virgin, so I would prefer if you do have sex this weekend, well, I would prefer knowing that you were safe about it."

"Is this sudden talk about the birds and the bees related to Klaus having a child?"

"I'm not going to lie, yes, but that's not the only reason I'm concerned Caroline. I'm curious why you aren't trying to be safer. Especially after what happened between you and Stefan a few years back."

"I thought we agreed not to talk about that."

"No you chose to ignore what happened and when you finally got your period after a while of not having it I agreed to drop it, but now that you're with Klaus, I want you to think that every one of your actions have consequences. "

"Fine. I get what you're saying, but I don't have any condoms, so I guess I'll have to save our wild, crazy escapades for some other time."

"We could go out and get some."

"Are you suggesting that I go with my mother to buy condoms?"

"Who else would know better than your mother?"

"Literally anyone else in the world."

"Oh, come on Caroline it's not that embarrassing."

"Says the woman who hasn't had to use them in a while." She blurted out snapping her lips shut before she said some other idiotic thing.

"Ouch."

"You know what I mean. I just don't feel comfortable shopping for condoms with my mother."

"What about Lexi?"

"Somehow that seems even worse."

"Your sister isn't that bad Caroline. I wish you two would spend more time with each other."

"You know why we don't mom, Besides she's my baby sister. It would be too awkward."

"What about Elena?"

"If I go to the store with Elena to get condoms, can we stop talking about this?"

"Nothing would make me happier."

"Fine." She said texting Elena and making the most embarrassing call of her life.

"How big do you think Klaus is?" Elena asked picking up a box of extra-large condoms as Caroline looked around the aisle making sure that no one was listening, and they were alone.

"How the hell am I supposed to know? I brought you here to help me not to make it worse."

"You're right, there's no way he has a big dick, he's probably average like most guys."

"Elena." She hissed causing her to laugh.

"Oh, come on Caroline, I have to poke a little fun at you, it's not every day I ger to go condom shopping with my best friend. Now the real question, do you want ribbed condoms, flavored condoms, or ones that barely feel like there's anything there?"

Groaning, Caroline put her head in her hands wishing that she was anywhere else but here.

"Why on earth would anyone want flavored condoms?"

"For blow jobs duh."

"I changed my mind; I think having my mom here would be less embarrassing."

"In all seriousness, are you even ready to have sex with Klaus?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. I'm not sure if we're ready yet, you know. The time just doesn't seem quite right for us."

"Then don't have sex. Take your time and have sex with him when you're ready but bring the condoms just in case you change your mind."

"The ribbed ones seem quite nice." Caroline smiled as Elena handed her the box.

"Great choice. Now come on, let's get out of here. You have a trip to get ready for."

Zipping the condoms into her bag, Caroline hoisted it on her shoulder as her mother and Lexi waited in her door frame ready to escort her to the front door so they could say goodbye.

"You know I'll only be gone for three days, it's not that long away from you two."

"Humor us." Her mother answered as they stopped at the front door, Klaus waiting for her outside.

"I'll see you two in three days." She answered hugging them both as she opened the door and Klaus smiled at her.

"Ready to go?"

"More than ready." She smiled as she slipped her hand in his ready to start their weekend together.

"So, what is camping like for your family?" she asked as they passed yet another sign for their camp sight. Hope was sleeping quietly in the back, so it left plenty of room for conversation.

"It's the best. It's the only time all year that we can be together as a family. "

"It must be nice to have that even if it is just for a little while."

"I think you'll enjoy yourself. At least I hope so."

"So, what's first on the agenda?"

"Well of course we have to put our stuff away first, but after that we gather as a family and decide what we want to do first."

"Sounds like a plan."

"I need some gas. Do you mind watching Hope while I go in and get some snacks?"

"Of course. Do what you need to do. I'll watch Hope."

Smiling Klaus parked his car by a pump as he got out of the car and got gas while Caroline waited until he got back. Hope was still out like a light by the time Klaus came back and handed Caroline the snacks as he got in the car.

"Do you need to use the restroom before we head back out?"

"How far are we from the campsite?"

"About an hour or two."

"I might want to try and pee before we get back on the road."

"I'll wait for you here while you go."

"Okay. I'll be right back."

Getting out of the car, Caroline walked into the gas station getting a nod from the gas station attendant as she made her way to the bathroom locking herself in one of the stalls and taking a deep breath wondering how this weekend would turn out.

After she was done peeing, Caroline made her way out of the gas station to where Klaus was holding a fussy Hope. She guessed she had woken up and was not in a great mood.

"Hey." She said standing by him and Hope who was clinging to his neck for dear life and had chunks of vomit on her clothes.

"It'll be a couple more minutes before we go, Hope woke up from her nap and she isn't feeling well."

"Car sickness?"

"Yeah she gets it every time she travels long distances. "he said going to the trunk and rummaging through Hope's suitcase as he pulled out a new outfit for her. "I'll be right back, I'm going to change her outfit and get some ginger ale, crackers, and something to clean up the car. We may be here for a while, so feel free to walk around and stretch your legs." He said taking Hope inside as Caroline took out her phone and gave her mother and Elena an update on how the trip was going.

After a couple minutes of waiting, Klaus came out of the gas station as Caroline rushed to meet up with him taking the bag from his hands so he could get a better hold on Hope.

"Thank you." He smiled as Hope buried her face into his neck until they made their way to the car where he placed her down and opened the car wincing slightly at the smell that had accumulated since he had been inside.

"This may take awhile to clean. "

"Take your time. There's no real rush."

"Can you grab my phone out of the cup holder? I need to text my mom what happened, so she won't worry why we're late." Klaus asked wiping up the vomit as Hope waited patiently beside him offering to help him clean it up.

"Sure." She said as she went up to the passenger's side of the car and opened it reaching to the cupholder and grabbing Klaus's phone and feeling queasy at what she saw on his home screen.

She swore that she hadn't meant to look at his home screen, she had just pressed the wrong button and it had lit up, but when she looked down, she had saw something that made her feel a little bit insecure.

When she had glanced at the phone, she had saw a picture of Klaus in the hospital smiling with a woman in a hospital bed holding a small bundle of joy in her arms who she assumed was Hope, so this was what Hayley looked like. How the hell would Caroline compete with that?

Shaking her head, Caroline placed the phone to her side not looking at it anymore as she went to Klaus and gave him his phone hoping he didn't notice her snooping.

"Thanks." He said grabbing it and throwing the towels into a plastic bag.

"Do you need help?"

"Yeah. Can you throw this away? I'm going to text my mom."

"Sure." She replied placing a fake smile on her face as she grabbed the bag and threw it away making her way back to the car as Klaus sighed putting his phone in his pocket and putting Hope back in her car seat telling her that they would be there soon as he shut her door and turned to her.

"Looks like we're finally ready to hit the road. Sorry for the speed bump."

"It happens." She answered not feeling like talking. "We should probably hit the road."

Nodding Klaus and Caroline got into the car as Caroline turned on the radio allowing it to fill the silence as Klaus turned on the engine and she looked out the window hoping that this trip would turn better soon.

"We're here." Klaus smiled as he pulled up on the dirt road and Caroline glanced at the cabin, her jaw dropping slightly at what she saw.

"This cabin is enormous. Your grandfather owns this?"

"For thirty-five years." Klaus smiled reminiscing.

"Wow." She whispered as Klaus opened his door and she followed suit helping him with the luggage as Elijah stepped out of the cabin smiling and grabbing Hope's suitcase for Klaus.

"Thanks brother."

"Don't mention it. I'm just glad you guys made it here safely."

"I know right. I thought we'd never make it with all the bumps in the road."

"Well we're glad you're finally here. We're all inside playing a board game whenever you're ready to join us."

Stopping in his tracks, Klaus looked as if he were mortified as Elijah laughed at his face. What the hell was going on?

"Please tell me we're not playing what I think we're playing."

"You bet that's what we're playing."

"Why must we play monopoly every time we have a family trip? You know it makes us act like a bunch of animals."

"That's the fun of it." Elijah smiled as Hope bounced in excitement.

Rolling his eyes. Klaus. Caroline, Hope and, Elijah made their way inside where Klaus's mother, Rebekah, Freya. Kol, and Klaus's two other brothers sat around at a table with great looks of concentration sown on their faces.

"Well, well, well, look who finally showed up to our family get together for his birthday. What the hell took you so long?" Kol asked looking between Klaus and Caroline. "Did you two take a detour?" he asked suggestively making Caroline wonder why the hell people kept on thinking that Klaus and she were getting freaky. After all Hope was with them and that would be a little more then inappropriate.

"Watch your mouth and pay attention it's your turn." Freya spat back at him narrowing her eyes slightly as Kol smiled and landed on Boardwalk Place.

"I would like to buy it please." Kol smiled cynically as Rebekah took his money and handed him the card.

"Asshole." Freya muttered underneath her breath as Klaus took Hope into his arms and sighed.

"We're going to start unpacking, let us know when the next game starts."

Waving him on, they made their way to a smaller room filled with toys as Klaus put Hope's suitcase down as she made her way top her toys and started playing with them.

Sitting on the bed, Caroline watched as he started putting away Hope's clothes while she checked her phone. No signal. How was she supposed to talk about what she saw on Klaus's phone if she had no signal to talk about it with Elena. Maybe she should solve the problem head on and stop avoiding it, but she couldn't say it in front of Hope. It was her mother and you never trashed someone else's mother in front of them no matter how much you disliked them.

"So is Monopoly this intense all the time?"

"I guess it's just a Monopoly thing. It's honestly kind of embarrassing."

"No. It seems like a good chance to spend time with your family. I miss the days when I used to play games with mine."

"I never really thought of it that way."

"I guess sometimes you just need an outside perspective to see what you can't sometimes. "

"It's certainly something to think about."

"So, what else do we have planned besides monopoly today?"

"Well were just relaxing for the rest of the night. The real fun starts tomorrow."

"So, are we all sleeping in this room tonight?"

"No. You and I are sharing a room tonight. If that's alright with you."

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?"

"No reason. I always find it polite to ask."

Giving him a forced smile, Caroline got off the bed grabbing her bag and hoisting it on her shoulder.

"Ugh, I'm going to freshen up, where's the bedroom and bathroom?"

"The bedroom is the second door on the right and the bathroom is straight down the hall."

"Thanks. I'll see you out there."

"Looking forward to it." He smiled as she left the room letting out a deep breath and made her way to the room that her and Klaus were going to share over the weekend.

Opening the door, Caroline found herself lost in how spacious and cozy it looked as she placed her bag on the bed and took her cardigan off suddenly feeling very warm.

Digging through her clothes, Caroline pulled out a suitable outfit for the rest night and placed her bag on the far end of the room making sure that no one would trip over it at the end of the night.

Grabbing her clothes, Caroline made her way to the bathroom where she almost ran into Rebekah who was coming out after just using it.

"Shit, Rebekah, I'm so sorry. I guess I wasn't paying attention. "

"What's got you so distracted?"

"I saw something that I shouldn't have and now I'm kind of tripping out about it."

"What did you see?"

"It's not really my place to say. Let's just say I messed up and now I'm paying for it. I just don't know why I can't ever leave well enough alone."

"Well whatever is bothering you, I have all the confidence in the world that you'll conquer it. Now if you don't excuse me, I'm excited to see who will win between Freya and Kol. The tension is killing me. See you later."

"See you." She replied stepping into the bathroom, shutting the door, and stripping her clothes off so she could take a shower.

In the shower, she thought of the picture she had seen and how it had affected her overall mood. She knew she shouldn't have let it get her down, but that was the problem with overthinking, things always hit you just a little bit harder than they should.

Sighing she shut off the water stepping out of the bathroom and getting dressed as she stepped out of the bathroom into the hallway where Klaus had just stepped out of Hope's room without her in tow.

"Where's Hope?"

"She was tired after the long car ride, so she's taking a nap. Did you enjoy your shower?"

"Yeah. The water was warmer than I expected."

"Well the water heater here is in excellent condition, so I was hoping that it worked out well for you."

"So, have you figured out who won yet?"

"Well based off the screaming I heard from the living room, I'm guessing Kol did. My poor ears won't be the same for a while."

"So, what is everyone doing now?"

"Well since Kol was the winner he got to decide what we did next, so everyone is outside setting up a campfire while Elijah fries up some burgers."

"Sounds fun."

"well we better get out there and start helping with something."

"Yeah. Of course." She said following him outside where his family was waiting.

"Smells good." Caroline said stepping up to Elijah and handing him his spatula.

"Thank you. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does."

"I'm sure I will. Can I ask you a personal question?"

"If you must."

"I know it isn't my place, but have you had contact with Hayley since she called Klaus last?"

"You're right. It's not your place."

"Listen I didn't mean to offend you. I'm just trying to understand."

"What's so complicated? My best friend had sex with my brother, got pregnant, went back on one of her drug binders, and now is trying to heal and see her daughter again. What's so hard to understand about that?"

"Oh my God."

"What?"

"You like Hayley. Or rather, you did before she slept with Klaus. It makes so much sense now. You don't like me, because you're still protecting her after everything she's done. How could you still defend her? After all she's done to Klaus. After all she's done to Hope."

"You're out of line. Do yourself a favor and learn more about Hayley and more about my brother before you say more that you may regret." Elijah said going back to his flipping, but she wasn't done yet.

"Why does Klaus still have a picture of her on his phone?"

"That's something you have to ask him. Now please leave me alone. I'm way too old to be dealing with these antics of yours."

Before Caroline could say more, a hand slipped around her waist as Klaus spoke up.

"It seems like you two were having an intense conversation over here. Is everything okay?" Klaus asked making Caroline feel uncomfortable.

"We're fine, Caroline was just trying to make suggestions about my cooking, and you know how I get over my burgers. Sorry things got so intense Caroline."

"It's alright." She answered realizing that this conversation between them were over as Klaus took him over to where Rebekah and Freya were talking.

"I'm going to help mom." He said kissing the side of her head before going over top his mother leaving her to talk with Rebekah and Freya. She just wished they were alone so they could finally talk. God knows after the outburst she had with Elijah, she really needed to get her shit together.

"So, Caroline, is this your first time going camping?" Freya asked placing more sticks in the fire to keep it going. Caroline was happy at the chance to change the subject.

"Ugh, no, I went once or twice when I was younger, but that was about it."

"Well I hope you find your time here with us memorable."

"I have a feeling this will be a trip I won't forget for some time."

"I always love coming out here. It's a great chance to clear your head and battle that bad mojo that's in your brain."

"I do hope that it helps me then. "

"I'm sure it will. You just have to sit back, relax, and let the universe do its thing."

"I guess you're right about that, but what if the universe needs a little push?"

"Why do you say that?"

"I have to have a serious conversation with Klaus tonight and I'm dreading it."

"Well even though some conversations are hard to have, sometimes they can be necessary to ease your mind."

"Yeah I guess you're right."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be alright. You won't have to worry about it for too long. Just enjoy your night and don't let it get to you too much."

"I'll try."

"Well now that that's settled, can you go to the kitchen and grab the stuff for smores."

"Sure." She smiled getting up and going to the kitchen where Kol was looking out the window enjoying the fruit of his labor with a coy smile.

"I take it you're enjoying your victory?" she said opening the cabinet to get the stuff she needed.

"Of course. I get to enjoy so few, so when I do win, I love to take it in."

"So, what is this all about? Why did you choose this as the thing you wanted to do?"

"Well after seeing my family nearly wanting to rip each other's throats out over a board game it's nice to do something that makes everyone come together. If you know what I mean."

"Yeah I think I get it. It's nice to have a sense of unity in the mist of all this chaos."

"You're smart. I can see why my brother has taken a liking to you."

"Do you think I can ever compare?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"To what?"

"Not a what, a whom."

"Ah, starting to feel jealous of the ghost of girlfriends past I see."

"What was she like?"

"Daring. Exhilarant. She was known for living on the edge and she was never apologetic for anything in her life. If it wasn't for the drugs, I think she would have been a good match for this family."

"Did he love her?"

"It's hard to say. In many ways Hayley made him feel things he's never felt before, but just because she made him feel those things doesn't necessarily mean they were good things or that they were in any way right for each other. She was toxic for him, drugs or not, it wouldn't have lasted."

"But I thought you said she would make a good fit for this family."

"She would. Just not with Klaus." He said as Kol glanced at Elijah making Caroline finally realize who he was talking about.

"I should probably get back outside. You should come to. Enjoy your victory in a place where you could actually appreciate it."

"I'll consider it. Enjoy the night Caroline and don't worry about Hayley too much. You're better than her in every way."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll keep that in mind."

Gathering everything she needed, Caroline felt a surge of relief as she went outside to where everyone was now grabbing plates and grabbing Elijah's delicious burgers enjoying their time together like Caroline should have been. Maybe she should just take everyone's advice and enjoy her night. There was plenty of time to talk with Klaus later and she didn't want to act like a crazy person just because she saw a picture of Hayley on his phone. A phone she shouldn't have been looking at in the first place.

"There you are, we were starting to worry." Klaus said as she sat down the stuff for smores.

"Sorry I was just talking to Kol. Trying to convince to join in on all the fun."

"He'll be out here soon. It wouldn't be a true night around the campfire without Kol telling one of his world-famous ghost stories."

"Ghost stories?"

"It's family tradition. You can always join in on the fun if you want."

"I may be persuaded."

"Come join us. You may find that you'll actually enjoy your time here if you give it a real shot."

"I know I haven't been the best since I've been here and I'll explain it all tonight, but for right now let's enjoy the rest of our night."

"Agreed." He said giving her a soda after she was done grabbing her food and sitting down with the others.

"So, who here tells the best ghost stories?"

"Of course, the winner himself." A voice said as they all turned around to see Kol walking towards them.

"Well, look who finally graced us with his presence." Elijah teased as Kol sat down next to him plate loaded with food.

"You know I couldn't resist the chance to consume one of your delectable burgers Elijah. Telling ghost stories is just the cherry on top of this great day. And the best part is the trip has just begun."

"Well remember we're here to celebrate Klaus's birthday. How does it feel to be five hours away from being nineteen?" Elijah asked nudging Klaus.

"The same as it did when I turned nineteen."

"Well here's to nineteen being your best year yet." Elijah smiled taking a sip of his drink as Klaus stood up making Caroline wonder where he was going.

"I'm going to grab Hope. I wouldn't want her to go to bed without eating." He said going in the cabin and leaving Caroline alone with his family.

"So, what are we doing for Klaus's birthday tomorrow?" she asked trying not to feel awkward.

"Whatever he feels like doing. It's the one time all year that he gets to be in charge. Better saddle up darling, you're in for a hell of a day tomorrow." Kol said making things more awkward then they were before.

"We'll make the most of the day no matter what we decide to do. Now come on Kol tell us one of those world-famous ghost stories."

"Wait for me. Wait for me." Hope said climbing onto her grandmother's lap as Klaus sat beside Caroline waiting for the story to begin as she finished her burger and put a marshmallow on a stick toasting it on the fire to melt as she listened to Kol's story letting herself be consumed by someone else's stories for once.

"So, are we going to talk about it?" Klaus asked later that night as she walked in the room wearing her pajamas and ready to get into bed.

"About what?"

"About what's been bothering you all day. You said we would, and I don't want to start my birthday off with you pissed at me. We have twenty minutes until then so tell me what's got you so bothered."

"Remember when you asked me to get your phone?"

"Yes, I vaguely remember that. What about it?"

"I caught a glimpse of what or rather whom was your home screen and it sounds stupid and juvenile, but I got- "

"Jealous?"

"Of course. How was I supposed to feel when I saw your baby mama's face on your phone?"

"If what you saw bothered you, why didn't you talk to me about it? Why did you wait all day to do something about it?"

"Because I hate confrontation and jealousy makes me do stupid, idiotic things."

"Is that why you were fighting with Elijah? Over what you saw on my phone?"

"That's what it started off as, but we ended up arguing about something different."

"Tell me. No more secrets."

"We were fighting about Hayley. I wanted to know more about her and why you cared about her after all she done and he told me that I didn't know shit about her and that I should find out the whole story, but in the end I found out that the reason why he was defending Hayley was because he liked her more than just a friend."

"Listen Caroline I wasn't blind to my brother's affection for Hayley. Hell, there was a time I thought they would take Hope and leave me behind, but that never happened, because she fucked up whatever chance she had of living a normal happy night the moment she touched that shit yet again."

"If you hate her so much. Why do you have her picture set as your home screen?"

"Because that was the day Hope was born and the one day when everything seemed perfect. I keep it to remember that Hayley wasn't always a monster. I keep it for Hope so when she asks about her mother, I can tell her about the one holding her in this picture. Not the one who I hate more than anything else in this world."

"I feel like such shit now. Klaus, I am so sorry that I jumped to conclusions. I just didn't want to get into an argument with Hope around. She's been through enough already and she doesn't even know the half of it."

"Well then I believe it's best that I wait to have that conversation with her for when she's old enough to understand it. The last thing I need is you fighting with my brother about Hope's mother. Please just do me a favor and let this thing about Hayley go. She's in the past and I would like to move forward in the future with you, but I can't if you keep digging into my past and bringing up stuff that I don't want you to know yet. Elijah is right when he said there's more to the story, I just need you to be patient and wait until I'm ready to tell you the rest. Can we agree on that? Please."

"Of course. But to move forward we need to be honest with each other no matter how much it hurts. Deal."

"Deal. Now we better get some real sleep. We got a big day tomorrow and I think you'll like what I've got planned."

"I sure hope so." She smiled falling into Klaus's arms ready to face the next day with the person she cared most about in this world.

Eyelids fluttering open, Caroline looked into Klaus's eyes exhaling as she moaned wanting nothing more then to throw the covers over her head and sleep just a little bit longer. But today wasn't her day, it was his and she wanted nothing more than to make him as happy as he was trying to make her.

"Well good morning old man, how did you sleep?"

"Better than expected. What about you?"

"I think I've had the best night of sleep I've had in ages, but tonight isn't about me it's about you. What are we doing to celebrate this joyous day of your birth?"

"You know for a girl who supposedly hates birthdays you sure are putting a lot of an effort into mine."

"I never said I hated birthdays, I just hate my own, but today isn't about me, it's about you. So, stop avoiding the question and tell me what we're doing today."

"Honestly, deciding everything on the spot. Being spontaneous and in the sense of being spontaneous I know what I would love to do first."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"This." He smiled kissing her and laying her further down on the bed making her feel giddy.

"I could get used to this." She smiled as he kissed her smile his matching her own.

"I hope so, because I like having you around Caroline Elizabeth Forbes."

"Right back at you birthday boy." She said with a kiss as the door swung open and Hope jumped on the bed excited.

"Happy birthday, daddy!" she exclaimed handing him a piece of paper and smiling as he opened it showing his own.

"Thank you, sweetheart, I love it."

"It's you, me, and Caroline." She smiled as Caroline glanced at her picture smiling.

"You drew a picture of me."

"Yeah cause you matter to my daddy so you matter to me. "

"Thanks Hope. That means a lot to me."

"I think you just gave me an idea Hope. Let's take a photo on daddy's phone of all three of us."

"Are you serious?" Caroline asked smiling slightly.

"I need a new home screen after all."

"Yay! Picture!" Hope exclaimed settling herself between Caroline and Klaus as he took the picture takin a big step in their relationship without even realizing it."

"I'm going to get dressed. Breakfast starts soon."

"We'll meet you down there sweetie." Klaus smiled as Hope ran off and Caroline got out of the bed moving to the vanity in her room as she winced at her reflection. She didn't want to celebrate Klaus's birthday looking like she had just rolled fresh out of bed she needed to freshen up.

"Can you hand me my toothbrush and tooth paste out of my bag." She commented absent mindedly staring at her reflection.

"Sure. Which zipper?"

"The outside one."

"Ugh. I think you told me the wrong pocket."

"What makes you say that?" she asked turning around and then becoming mortified at what she saw. It was Klaus and he was holding her box of condoms. Shit.

"I forgot I brought those along."

"Why did you bring condoms on a family vacation?"

"I can't believe I have to talk to you about that, but my mother made me take them, so I'd be safe."

"Because I have a kid."

"It's more than that. I just haven't told you that part of the story, but that's not what I want to talk about today. This day is for you and about you, so let's just pretend you didn't find that and just enjoy your birthday without any drama."

"You're right. Let's make this a good day that we'll remember for a while. Starting with a good family breakfast where you'll probably hear embarrassing stories from my childhood."

"Intriguing. I can't wait to hear more about them."

"Then we mustn't be late." He smiled as Caroline smiled ready to embrace the day.

"I still can't believe you took a shit in a suitcase on a family trip and hoped that your mother wouldn't notice." She laughed as they were walking in unison later in the day following the family as they took a nature hike so that they could take it all in.

"I told you most of the stories were embarrassing." He blushed rubbing her hand where he was holding it.

"Turns out you were right, but embarrassment is a natural part of life, so I think you're good."

"Says the girl who's never had an embarrassing story of her childhood told."

"To be fair we're never around my family enough for you to hear embarrassing stories about me, but maybe sometimes we could change that."

"I would like that."

"Keep up lovebirds!" Kol shouted as Klaus and Caroline rushed to keep up.

"So, what are we doing after this?"

"I figured we could have some alone time before my family wants to gather for a birthday dinner."

"Sure. What did you have in mind?"

"Are you good at riding bikes?"

"Maybe riding bikes was a bad idea." Klaus speculated as Caroline winced from her injuries. She had scraped herself up badly.

"That's an understatement." She answered as Klaus sat her down on the porch and Rebekah came out exchanging a look between the two of them.

"What the hell happened?"

"Caroline and I were riding bikes and hers flipped over a huge rock. Do you think you can get me the first aid kit so I could patch her up out here?"

"Of course. I'll be right back." Rebekah replied going inside as Klaus tried to roll up her jeans to see the injury but couldn't since they were too tight on her ankles.

"We'll have to go to the room to patch this up. Do you think you could handle walking to the room?"

"I guess we'll have to manage if I don't want the blood to stain my good jeans." She smiled as he hoisted her up making her grimace slightly at the pain as she followed him inside where Rebekah was about to come out with the first aid kit.

"Where is everyone?" Caroline asked noticing no one was here.

"They went into town to get some more food for tonight, but they should be back soon. I just didn't want to go with them, because I wanted to get some homework done. "

"Thank you for getting the first aid kit Rebekah. I'm going to patch Caroline up in our room and hopefully the injury isn't too bad."

Nodding, Caroline and Klaus made their way to their room as Klaus sat her down gently standing there as he looked around the room.

"This might make you a little bit uncomfortable, but I need you to take off your pants so I could see the injury better."

"Of course. Sure. No problem." She said taking off her pants and almost retching at the look of her knee.

"Ugh. That looks deep."

"I think I'm going to be sick."

"Just take deep breaths and I'll try to get this over with as soon as possible."

Taking deep breaths, Caroline waited patiently as Klaus took out the supplies to patch up her injuries.

"This may sting a little." He said putting disinfectant on a gauze and placing it on her wound.

"Shit." She hissed trying not to pass out from the pain.

"I know it hurts, but it'll be better soon."

After he was done disinfecting the wound, he wrapped her knee up in some gauze and helped her sit up.

"I need to disinfect the cuts on your face."

Nodding, Klaus worked quickly to avoid hurting her further as he finished up putting everything back in the first aid kit and putting it away.

"I feel so stupid. I ruined your birthday, because I wasn't paying attention and now, you're here taking care of me when it's your special day. I'm sorry for that."

"It's not your fault. Shit happens."

"Maybe later on tonight I could make it up to you."

"What did you have in mind?"

"I guess you'll just have to wait until tonight to find out." She smiled as Klaus gave her a kiss and got up.

"Until then you should probably keep that knee elevated. I'll come get you when dinner is ready."

"Okay." She smiled as Klaus left the room making her hope that she didn't ruin his birthday.

Darkness fell across the mountain tops as Caroline's eyelids fluttered open lifting her body up slowly and looking around the room not remembering falling asleep but feeling like utter crap that she had slept for so long. What had shew missed when she was out?

Being careful not to touch her wounded knee, Caroline put on a loose fitting pair of sweatpants and a band tee and carefully made her way out of the room with a slight limp to her step as she walked to the kitchen where the whole family excluding Klaus and Hope were sitting around the table sharing stories and reminiscing as the scent of a fresh pot roast filled Caroline's nostrils.

"Where's Klaus?" she asked as they all looked at her no one answering her question until Esther spoke up.

"He's with Hope. She already ate earlier, and she was feeling tired so he's staying with her until she falls asleep."

"Oh. Okay."

"Come have a seat dear, being on your bad knee must be hard for you to bare right now." She said as Caroline sat in an empty chair feeling out of place there without Klaus present as the family continued with their conversation.

"I vote we go fishing tomorrow." Hennrick piped up as Finn grimaced at the mention of it.

"Of course, you would pick the single most boring activity to do while we're here." Finn retorted as Hennrick rolled his eyes.

"As if you could come up with anything better to do."

"Why do we have to do things as a family tomorrow? Why can't we just do our own thing? A little bit of alone time amidst the family bonding isn't necessarily a bad thing." Finn suggested.

"We have plenty of alone time when we're not here Finn. This is supposed to be a family trip, so why not do things as a family."

"Because as much as I love all of you all this family time is driving me crazy. It might be a logical move to at least do our own things for a couple of hours tomorrow."

"I agree with Finn." A voice said as Klaus materialized making Caroline feel instant relief. At least she didn't have to wait for him for long. "We've had plenty of family bonding time and there's no possible way we can get everything we want done in one more day if we all stay together. Maybe we should split up for the day and reconvene at night, so we have something to talk about."

"Well when you put it that way fishing does sound better without having to hear Finn's constant bitching about it."

"Then it's settled. We'll all do our own thing tomorrow. So now that that's out of the way, when is dinner going to be ready?"

"In about thirty minutes." His mother announced as Klaus sat down next to Caroline.

"Sounds perfect." He smiled holding onto Caroline's hand before everyone went back to talking and a note was slid into her hand as she looked at Klaus who gestured for her to read it.

Opening it up slowly, Caroline glanced at the words on the page asking her if she was up for a mini adventure tonight after everyone had gone to bed. Her knee was still throbbing slightly, but she wasn't going to pass an opportunity to have some alone time with Klaus even if it was for just a few moments.

Sure. She wrote back slipping it back into his hand as his mother got up and took the pot roast out of the oven silencing their conversation. She guessed she would have to find out what Klaus was up to tonight, but one thing was for sure, she was a little bit exhilarated for what he had in store no matter what it was.

After everyone was tucked safe and sound into their beds, Caroline and Klaus excited their own room tip toeing down the hallway and being as quiet as possible as they excited the cabin bringing a sense of exuberance to Caroline as they made it out of there without being caught.

Once they were outside, Klaus grabbed Caroline's hand sending his warmth through hers as she smiled back at him wondering what this was all about.

"So, is there a reason why you brought me out here in the middle of the night from the prying eyes of your family? Feeling a little dangerous and daring?"

"Not exactly. I found this place the other night while you were sleeping and I thought it would be the perfect place for us to get the alone time we deserve, without any additional injury of course." He said looking at her injured knee.

"I swear I will never live that down."

"You will, you'll just have quite the story to tell Elena when you get back home."

"I guess you're right about that. So where are we going?" she asked as he shook his head.

"I guess you'll just have to trust me. Come on. Let's go." He smiled as she followed him keeping close to him to avoid injuring herself as they walked a few miles away from the cabin until they hit a small steam along the forest's edge.

"This place is beautiful. What is it?"

"A peaceful place. A happy place. A place where you could go to clear your mind and just think for a while. What's so funny?" he asked confused about why she had chuckled slightly.

"It was a real stupid reason that I was laughing. I'm sorry."

"I don't believe any of your reasons are stupid, I would appreciate hearing what you find so humorous."

"Alright, you got me there. It's quite morbid. You see when I used to have panic attacks my mother would come up with strategies to help avoid them so I could overcome them. She called them happy places. A place I could take my mind to when I fixate too hard on something else. It seems like such a silly thing to do, but it really did help. At least for a while."

"So, what was your happy place?"

"It would change based off the time." She answered looking down. She didn't want to sour this trip further with this topic.

"It's alright Caroline. You could tell me. I can handle it."

"Sometimes it was the train tracks that Elena took me to. Sometimes it was the good moments I had with Stefan, but mostly they were the times I shared with my father. Especially the times where he would teach me how to play the piano or times where I would catch glimpses of him and my mother, so happy together that that's the relationship I aspired to have and I don't know why that concept got so twisted in my head after he died, but I really am trying to get back there. To get back to my next happy place, no matter what that is."

"If it's any conception, I'll gladly help you find your next happy place. Even if you believe it to be a silly concept."

Smiling, she gave him a light peck on the lips as she pulled back wondering why he had chosen to take her here of all places.

"So, any reason why this is your happy place?"

"Keep watching." Her whispered as she saw tiny little lights flickering all around them making her smile with delight.

"Fireflies."

"I figured we could stand out here and enjoy them. That and look above." He said as she looked up and saw a sky full of stars. She had never seen so many.

"Breath taking. I've never seen so many stars before."

"It's because of all the light that surrounds us. Sometimes it's nice to come out and enjoy the earth's natural beauty occasionally. Sometimes I feel as if we take all this for granted. It's nice to be reminded of all that we miss when we're busy worrying about other things."

"I can see why you would want to share this with me. Thank you so much for everything. This trip and letting me in, even if it was just a little bit."

"Eventually there will come a day where you know everything about me and I know you won't look at me the same when you do, but I'm hoping the look will be one of utter admiration and love. I hope we don't lose what we could have any time soon. I'm terrified of what might happen if you knew everything."

"Whatever it is Klaus Mikaleson, we'll take it on together, because no one's past is bright and shiny. We all have our secrets and we all have our regrets. It's what we do about them that matters. It's who we are now not who we used to be and I for one can't wait to see who we evolve to be, because believe it or not, I don't want to lose what we have either." She smiled as their lips mashed together losing themselves in that kiss as the fireflies swarmed around them illuminating their love in a way only the universe could.

Giggling, Klaus and Caroline walked up the trail as the sun rose in the horizon. After their kiss they had spent the night just talking about anything they could. He hadn't opened up to her in the way she had wanted him to, but he had opened up plenty, enough to where she felt as if they were finally getting somewhere in their relationship. It terrified yet excited her to think that the thing she had with Klaus was real. She felt as if they were in it for the long haul as she held his hand wanting nothing but to stay in that moment forever, but unfortunately the harsh light of dawn had to come crashing through soon as they finally made their way to the house where a pissed off Elijah was there waiting for them as if he had been waiting there for a while.

"Glad that you two could finally show back up. Mind enlightening me on where you two were all night because it wasn't here."

"Why do you care so much Elijah? We're both legal adults and we weren't doing anything to put us in danger. So, what's your damage?"

"My damage is that your daughter woke up in the middle of the night wanting her father because she had one of her night terrors and you were no where to be found. Not only could we not calm Hope down all night, you had mom worried sick. Now before you say anything else that you might regret, I would suggest going inside while I have a little chat with Caroline."

"Why do you need to talk to her? She did nothing wrong."

"No little brother this is all on you, I'm just saving her from the wrath of our mother when you get inside, I believe she wanted to see you alone. Your girlfriend will be safe with me for a few moments so please go take care of what you need to inside we'll be there shortly."

Klaus looked at her reluctantly as she sighed no matter how much Elijah may have been acting like an asshole this was something Klaus had to deal with himself.

"Go ahead Klaus, I'll be fine with Elijah while you talk to your mother."

"Only if you're sure."

"Positive. Now go on. Go take care of your responsibilities." She answered giving him a small kiss before sending him off to deal with his mother, but he wasn't the only one who would have to deal with the wrath of a mikaleson as Caroline turned to Elijah waiting for the confrontation to begin,

"Listen Caroline, you seem like a sweet girl, but I believe you have no real clue what you're doing when it comes to my brother."

"And why would you say that?"

"I have a feeling most of your previous boyfriends weren't father's so let me enlighten you on something that you may not understand, dating someone, especially when they have a child, is an extremely difficult and complex relationship to handle especially when you are just barely begging to reach the peak of your maturity, You don't understand that Klaus has to pout that little girl above all else. Including you. So, when you sneak out in the middle of the night, you aren't thinking about his child. You aren't thinking how this would affect her if she wakes up and her father isn't there. Hell, why would you, you're a kid yourself and you didn't sign up to play mother to someone else's child, I would just like you to remember that my brother has been through things that you can't even begin to understand. You could play mother to Hope all you want when you're around her, but you'll never be her mother, you're not mature enough to be and that's not on you, that's on Klaus. He's so fragile after what had happened that he doesn't see that having a relationship is hurting him more than helping him. So, if I were you, I would consider if this relationship is worth it to you because from what I can see it's not even close."

Taken aback, Caroline narrowed her eyes feeling sick to her stomach as she passed Elijah feeling small suddenly as she reached the doorknob turning around to look at Elijah as she shook her head in disgust.

"Why do you hate me so much? Is it because I'm not her?" she asked tears threatening to spill out of them. She would not cry in front of this asshole.

"Contrary to popular belief Caroline, I don't hate you, I'm just trying to make you see that this is not going to end well for either of you. I'm trying tell you to proceed with caution and not get too invested before you get hurt in the process."

"I'll take my chances." She spat back at him as she yanked the door open and entered the cabin leaving Elijah Mikaelson in her dust as she went to go check on Klaus.


	15. Chapter 15

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 15

"There's my girl." Klaus smiled as he opened his screen door and pulled Caroline into a hug pressing a soft kiss to her forehead making her feel giddy as she tried to hold on to the chemistry book he had asked her to bring today before they made their way into his house which seemed more quiet than usual. She wondered what was going on.

"Where is everyone?" she asked putting her books on the kitchen table as she turned to meet his gaze.

"Well mother is working late, Rebekah took Hope to go pick up some last-minute additions to her Halloween costume, and Elijah is surprisingly on a date, so in other words- "

"We have the house all to ourselves." She finished pulling the fridge and getting a coke from inside suddenly feeling thirsty.

"Is that okay with you?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because I have something personal to ask you and I don't know how you'll respond to it."

"Listen Klaus, I think I know what this is about."

"You do?"

"Of course, thinking about having sex is perfectly natural especially at this point of the relationship, but I have to be honest I don't think I'm ready for us to have sex quite yet."

"That's good, because neither am I. I didn't invite you here to have sex Caroline. I invited you here, because I wanted to ask if you would go trick or treating with Hope and I on Halloween."

"Oh." She replied feeling a deep blush set on her cheeks.

"So, do you?"

"What?"

"Want to go trick or treating with Hope and me. I know Hope has been missing her mother lately and I know you going with us will be just the thing she needs to get herself out of this funk."

"Tell you what, I'll go trick or treating with you and Hope on one condition."

"Name it."

"Well Elena is dragging me to the Salvatore's annual Halloween party, and I was really hoping that you would be my date."

"Are you sure that I'm invited to this party? I mean I know that they were cool when I was over there for your birthday party, but this time this party is on their own terms and I know Stefan and I aren't the best of friends especially when it comes to you."

"On the contrary, I talked to Stefan about it and he extended the invitation to you as well. Now the only thing stopping you from going to the party is yourself. So, what do you say? Do you want to be my date?"

"Of course, I'll be your date Caroline Elizabeth Forbes. I only have one question."

"And what would that be?"

"What couples costume are we going to do?"

"You'd laugh."

"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad. What's the idea?"

"I was thinking we could be vampires. It may be cliché, but it's a simple enough costume to where we don't have to spend an arm and a leg on it and if we want, we couple be the sexiest couple at the party."

"Caroline, you should know by now that you don't need a costume to help you look sexy, you already do that all on your own."

"You're too sweet, but we should really get back to studying."

"Sounds like a plan to me, but do you mind if we continue this elsewhere?"

"And where would that be?"

"My bedroom."

"Are you sure that would be a good idea? Like you said you really need help passing this test or your mother is going to kill you."

"I promise no funny business, I just think I would study better in a more comfortable environment."

"I hope you're right about that. Come on let's head to your room and I'll help you study so you can pass this big test of yours."

"Sounds good to me."

"In that case, after you my lady." Klaus gestured leading Caroline to his room making her wonder if this was a good idea.

"I think out of all the times I've been here I've never once seen your room." Caroline smiled setting the books down on his desk and opening to the page they needed to study, so she could help him understand the material.

"Well I hope it measures up to your expectations."

"It's sure a lot cleaner than I expected."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No not at all. As a matter of fact, it makes me like you more."

"Well I'm glad that my cleanliness impresses you."

"Now let's make you even more impressive by helping you ace this test."

"Okay. You sure you don't want to do it in a place that's more comfortable."

"Is that your subtle way of trying to get me into your bed?"

"Depends. Is it working?"

"Only if you agree that we'll study and that they'll be no funny business."

"Agreed."

"In that case, I don't see why not." She smiled joining him on the bed as she cracked the book back open so they could study.

"You know you're super sexy when your nose deep in a book." Klaus murmured sleepily as he pressed a kiss against her neck sending shivers down her spine.

"I'd be even sexier if you quit distracting me and we could finish this." She suggested looking into those gorgeous eyes of his.

"We've been at it for about an hour. Besides isn't it scientifically proven that you retain information better if you take breaks during your study sessions."

"And who told you that?"

"I think I read it online somewhere. Besides how could I concentrate with a beautiful maiden beside me."

"In that case maybe I should go home." She smiled begging to get up as Klaus held onto her.

"Don't go just yet. At least give me a chance to persuade you to stay."

"Fine. You have fifteen minutes before I'm gone."

"Works for me." He smiled laying her down into the bed and settling on top of her pressing their lips together in a kiss that had never felt this good. Maybe this being alone thing had dampened her judgment only if it was just for a little while.

"Is it me or are these kisses getting better?" she chimed in as his lips traveled down her neck.

"I don't know. Are they?" he mused as his hands roamed up her skirt tracing the lace of her underwear. "God bless the person who invented skirts."

"I think your hand right there is a little bit too dangerous. We're supposed to be waiting, remember?"

"I would be lying if I said that I'm not tempted right now, but if you're uncomfortable we can continue studying if you wish." He replied making her want nothing more than to continue with what they were doing.

"I'm not opposed to having a little bit more fun." She answered feeling a little bolder than she usually was.

"What did you have in mind?" he whispered biting her lips slightly and making her throb ever so slightly. Why the hell was she acting this way? She never had before.

"What if I want you to do something with those hands?"

"And what is that?"

"I think you already know."

"Only if you're sure."

"I'm sure."

Nodding, Klaus's hands separated her legs, so he could slip his hands underneath her panties his fingers getting dangerously close to what she wanted him to touch.

"Klaus…Please." She moaned fixing him with an intense stare.

Breath hitching, Klaus slipped his fingers into her wet folds stroking her clitoris as she bit on her lips to repress her moan. She didn't want to risk someone figuring out what they were doing in here.

"Do you enjoy that?" he asked as her head hit the pillow breath hitching.

"Yes."

"Do you want them to be inside you?"

Nodding eagerly, one of Klaus's fingers slid in her pumping in and out as she bit down on her lip so hard that she swore she tasted blood.

"Like that?"

Growling slightly, Caroline sat on top of Klaus thrusting his fingers in and out of her as she rode them kissing Klaus with a passion that she had never knew that she could possess fort any one person.

"I think I need a taste of something else." He growled sucking her lip gently as his hands slipped out of her and pulled down her shirt and bra pressing his mouth to her nipples sucking them gently as her head rolled back and her back arched in response to how good this all felt. Fuck. Why did this have to feel so good?

"Are you sure you don't want to?" he asked desire filling his eyes as she opened her mouth to answer and Klaus's door flung open startling her so much that she had fell off the bed and onto the floor. That was going to hurt in the morning.

"What the hell are you doing?" Elijah's voice flowed through the room as she cursed underneath her breath pulling her shirt back up so Elijah would not see her exposed breast.

"I thought you had a date with Gia tonight." Klaus replied running his hand over his hair obviously frustrated at the interruption.

"Wasn't feeling it, so I snuck out of the back door and didn't bother looking back, but don't bother changing the subject. What the hell is she doing in your room? And what the hell do you two think you're doing in here?"

"Doing what two normal teenagers would do when they're in an empty house Elijah. Now would you please get out, you're being a total cock block."

"In that case, I'm glad I'm here. I wouldn't want you getting in more trouble then you already are."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I just think you two are moving a little too fast is all. Maybe you should pump the brakes at least for a little while. I wouldn't want you to accidently get another girl pregnant just because you were being too careless."

"Get out." Klaus spat springing out of his bed so fast that Caroline swore he was practically flying. Shit. Elijah had struck a real nerve.

"As you wish but think about what I said." Elijah said making Caroline narrow her eyes as he shut the door leaving Caroline and Klaus alone once more.

"I'm so sorry Caroline. I didn't think he would be so rude. Hopefully this doesn't push you away even further."

"Nothing ever could." She said leaning in close to him and giving him a kiss and hoping that she could keep that promise.

"We should probably get back to that homework."

"I think I'll get us some sodas before we start."

"Are you sure you want to take on the wrath of Elijah Mikaelson?"

"I think I can handle him. Be right back. I promise."

"What the hell is your problem?" Caroline asked stepping into the kitchen where Elijah was fixing himself a sandwich.

"What are you babbling about this time?" Haven't we've seen each other enough for one day?"

"Don't be coy with me, why the hell are you so hard on Klaus? It isn't his fault that Hayley was too drugged up to help raise Hope, so why are you making it his problem? Why are you taking her side? And don't tell me it's because you love her as much as she used to love him."

"You talk as if you know the whole story."

"I know enough to tell when you're being an asshole only for the sake of being an asshole."

"If you believe that then maybe you should push Klaus to tell you the whole story. Maybe educate yourself about his past before you come out looking like an imbecile and end up hurting yourself in the long run."

"What ae you even talking about?"

"You'll find out soon enough." He said taking his sandwich and leaving Caroline dumbfounded. What the hell was he talking about? Did Caroline not know as much about Klaus as she originally had thought?

"What the hell is his brother's problem anyway?" Elena asked as Caroline gasped trying not to bruise from the tightness of her corset.

"It just seems like he's so hung up on this Hayley girl that he would jeopardize Klaus's and mine relationship just so he could satisfy her. And man, why the hell do these have to be so damn tight?"

"You're the one who wanted to wear a corset. Now come along let's finish your makeup before you pass out from this death trap."

Nodding, Caroline was about to sit down before her cellphone rang causing Elena to roll her eyes before Caroline picked up her phone noticing Klaus's number. Shit. What was going on now?

"At least put it on speaker phone, so we could finish your eyeliner."

"Fine." She answered picking up the phone to talk with Klaus. "Hey babe, what's up?"

"I'm having a dilemma of sorts; I just hope you'll be understanding of our latest situation."

"Why? What's going on?"

"I'm on thin ice with my mother after what happened with us the other day."

"How did she find out about that?"

"I'll give you a hint. He's annoying, nosy, and his name starts with an E."

"Elijah." She huffed feeling more annoyed then she had before. "What did your mom say about it?"

"She told me she didn't want me to go to Stefan's party alone. She doesn't want me to put myself in the same situation that I was in before, so she insisted on bringing a chaperone."

"And let me guess, Elijah volunteered to be the very chaperone your mother sought out."

"Correct."

"That little shit." Elena replied as Caroline shushed her.

"So, I take it you're not into the idea of bringing Elijah along?" Klaus asked ignoring Elena's frustration.

Before Caroline could answer Elena walked up to the phone taking it off speaker and putting it to her ear.

"Bring him along, we'll figure out a way to get you and Caroline away from his prying eyes. Trust me on this one. She'll see you at your house in an hour." Elena answered hanging up her phone and tossing it on Caroline's bed as she rolled her eyes.

"What the hell Elena? The last thing I need is for Elijah to go to that party tonight."

"You haven't even given me the opportunity to tell you my sure-fire plan."

"And what would that be?"

"You told me that Elijah was still hung up on Hayley, right?"

"Correct, but I don't see how this relates to my current situation."

"Easy, Klaus has a brother that is currently looking for a girl to get over Hayley with and it just so happens that I have a sister around his age who has no other plans for tonight then handing out candy to snotty nose children when she would rather be out partying with a hot ass guy no matter how damaged he may be."

"Are you seriously suggesting hooking up your sister with Klaus's older brother, so Klaus and I could have some alone time?"

"Yes."

"What if it doesn't work?"

"Then what do you really have to lose?"

"Nothing I guess."

"Fantastic. Now go ahead and finish your hair while I call Katherine to tell her the good news."

"What makes you think that plan will work?" a voice said from her door revealing Lexi wearing a sexy police officer costume.

"What's with the outfit Forbes? Are you going to a party at Skanks R Us?" Elena challenged, but Lexi was not backing down.

"No, it's obviously for the Salvatore party tonight."

"Last time I checked you weren't invited. Better luck next time kiddo."

"You're right Gilbert, I wasn't invited, but now thanks to you two I'm going after all."

"What the hell are you talking about Alexia?"

"I'm talking about hooking up Katherine and Elijah so you can score some alone time with Klaus. It would be unfortunate if Elijah found out about it before the party."

"Fine. We'll take you to the stupid party. Just keep your mouth shut and stay the hell away from me when we're there."

"No problem. I'm meeting some friends there anyway. Thanks sis I owe you one." Lexi winked as Elena exhaled helping Caroline finish her braided bun making her wonder what the hell this night had in store for her.

"Caroline!" Hope smiled rushing to Caroline as she threw her arms around her in a hug.

"Why hello there, sweetie, nice Halloween costume, what are you supposed to be?"

"I'm a witch." Hope smiled showing off her costume to Caroline as Klaus walked up to them looking every bit like a sexy vampire as she could have ever imagined.

"You look…...perfect. As usual." She smiled looking him up and down as he did the same.

"I should be saying that about you. Are you ladies ready to go?"

"Yeah!" Hope jumped in excitement as Klaus, Hope, and Caroline made their way out the door ready for their next adventure.

"Has mommy called today daddy?" Hope asked him and Caroline walked through the front door looking at each other with concern as Caroline took Hope's candy to the table dumping it so they could sort it out and check it.

"Ugh, no sweetie, I haven't heard from her today, but I'm sure she'll call tomorrow to hear all about your Halloween."

"I doubt it." Hope said sulking to the kitchen table as Caroline looked at Klaus not sure what exactly to do.

"I'm sorry she's been like this all day and I have a feeling it's about more than just her mother, but she refuses to talk to me about it. I just don't know what to do Caroline. It hurts me to see her so upset."

"Do you mind if I take a crack at it?"

"It's worth a try. I'll give you two some privacy."

Nodding, Caroline went over to Hope pulling at a chair next to her while she stared sadly at her candy.

"I'll trade you three bags of skittles for one of your snickers." Caroline suggested holding them up as Hope pondered her offer.

"Make it two bags of skittles and a Twix and you got yourself a deal." She replied as Caroline nodded and they traded their candy. Hope still looking as sad as she was when they had come back.

Klaus was now talking to his mother about the party tonight and how he wasn't sure how late he'd be out as Caroline was keeping Hope distracted. She didn't think she was doing quite a good job, but at least she was trying.

"Are you okay, Hope?"

"I didn't want to tell daddy because he would be sad if I was sad, but today hasn't been a good day for me."

"Want to talk about it?"

"When daddy dropped me off at my playdate the other girls weren't as nice as I thought they would be."

"What did they say?"

"They wanted to playhouse with their dolls and told me I couldn't play, because I didn't know what it was like to have a mommy, so I wouldn't be a good one."

"Well for one those girls are wrong about a lot of stuff and for two any girls that would say that to you aren't your friends."

"I know."

"Is there something else that's bothering you?"

"Sometimes I wish you were my mommy. You would be a better mommy then my mommy is. You would care about me more than my mommy can."

"Sweetie I can never replace your mommy and even though she's not here right now I'm sure she loves you very much."

"That's what daddy says too, but just because someone says something doesn't make it true. She didn't even bother to call."

"I'm sorry sweetie. I'm sure she'll call soon and ask you all about your Halloween. I just hope that you'll enjoy your time talking to her."

"I always do. Sometimes if I close my eyes and listen it's like she's here."

"I hope one day you'll finally get to see her in person."

"Yeah. Me too. Hopefully you'll get to meet her too and then we can all be a big happy family."

"Hopefully." She smiled as Klaus came back into the kitchen grabbing an almond joy and kissing the side of Caroline's face while he sat down.

"Alright my little witch it's time for bed."

"Do I have to go to bed?"

"Yes ma'am, that's non-negotiable. Now come on I'll help you brush your teeth and get ready for bed."

"Okay. Thank you for tonight Caroline." Hope said giving her a hug before Klaus scooped her up in his arms giving Caroline time to process what had just happened.

"Alright, I'll let them know." Caroline responded as she hung up the phone and turned to Klaus who was standing on his porch without Elijah in tow.

"Know what?"

"Elena's starving and she's afraid that the party won't have any real food in it, so she wants us to meet them at a diner so we could eat before we go."

"Sounds like a good plan to me. We just have to wait for Elijah to finish getting ready before we leave."

"Alright." She mused looking up to the night sky and taking in the stars while they waited. She just really wanted for this night to be perfect.

"Thank you." He said out of nowhere pulling her attention back to him.

"For what?"

"Helping with Hope, I know you didn't have to do so, but whatever you said seemed to help so thank you."

"I just thought it would help her out seeing as how her mother isn't any real help. "

"What do you mean by that?"

"I just don't understand why you allow her to talk to Hope. What if she's lying to you all about getting better and you're just setting Hope up for disappointment?"

"And I'll deal with that when it happens, but it's not your place to tell me what to do with my daughter. She's not your kid, so who I allow her to interact with isn't your business, especially if that person happens to be her mother."

"Her mother is a strung-out junkie who doesn't deserve to know her daughter, so why the hell are you allowing it to happen? Are you still into her or something? Is that the secret you've been hiding? That your holding out for your junkie ex to get better so you two can get back together and leave me in your dust."

"You are way out of line."

"And you're hiding something from me, so why don't you just get this over with and tell me what it is?"

"You're acting paranoid. Maybe you should just chill out for a second, because you're acting like a crazy person."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah and I have to tell you it's kind of a major turn off."

"Well keeping a secret is a major turn off for me, so I guess we're both at an impasse here."

"Maybe we are."

Before Caroline could respond, Elijah came outside noticing the tension between Klaus and Caroline which probably made him feel satisfied based off the smug look on his face.

"Everything okay out here?" he asked knowing that it was anything but.

"Yeah. We're stopping by a restaurant before we go, so we best leave now before we're late." Klaus answered walking off to his car as Caroline huffed knowing this conversation was far from over.

"About time you got here, I thought we were going to use this time to allow Katherine and Elijah to get to know each other so they would leave you and Klaus alone tonight." Elena asked as Caroline looked at Elijah, Katherine, Lexi, and Klaus in the same booth feeling more annoyed then she had been at Klaus's house because she felt like he wasn't fazed by their argument at all. Not like she was.

"Trust me Elijah coming tonight might not be as bad as I thought."

"How so?"

"I said a few things about Hayley and Hope and now Klaus is pissed at me for butting into his business."

"To be fair anything involving Hayley and Hope is really none of your business. The last thing you want is to get involved in baby mama drama, so just mind your own business and hopefully you won't have to."

"That's the thing Elena, I'm already in this baby mama drama. I want to be in a serious relationship with Klaus, but what if Elijah was right and he's keeping something from me."

"Then you'll figure out in due time Caroline. It's been a couple of months and some secrets take years to tell people. And why are you worried about a serious relationship now? Aren't you applying for early admissions to colleges anyway? Why jeopardize that?"

"I haven't decided on any of that yet Elena. I'm just trying to make it through this year in one piece."

"Then stop trying to ruin things for yourself. If he's not telling you something, then don't sweat it. Ditch his ass tonight and hang with your girls instead if he insists on being hostile about the Hope and Hayley situation, because this is Halloween, and anything can happen."

"You're right maybe I should let lose for one night. Show Klaus that I'm not a doormat or Hayley's replacement. He needs to see that and I'm going to tell him right here, right now."

"Caroline_"

But before Elena could stop her, Caroline was to Klaus stopping the group mid conversation as she crossed her arms over her chest in a confrontational manner.

"Ah, Caroline there you are. Is there a problem?" Elijah asked making her narrow her eyes.

"Yeah Elijah there is, but this time it doesn't concern you so consider yourself lucky. No. My problem is actually with Klaus over here."

"Caroline. You're making a scene."

"Yeah, because that's exactly what a crazy, paranoid person would do, so I'm just here to prove your point. "

"Oh shit." Lexi murmured her eyes sparkling with entertainment wanting nothing more than to see this shit fest go down. Well looks like she was about to get her wish.

"What's your problem Caroline? I thought you wanted this night to be relaxing and unproblematic."

"Yeah. I do, which is why I'm going to the Salvatore's party with Elena, Katherine, and Lexi, because suddenly going with you doesn't seem relaxing and very problematic. I don't need to sit there arguing with you for hours about what is or isn't best for Hope, because I know in my heart that Hayley is not that and while we're on the subject of her, if you're just dating me to keep her place until she gets back from rehab then maybe we should just end this now because it's not fair to the four- no wait five of us to keep this illusion going. So, come to Stefan's party or don't because you're sure as hell not going with me, because I am not Hayley's replacement Klaus. I'm Caroline Elizabeth Forbes and I may be a complete and utter mess, but it's better than pretending to be someone I'm not and I don't want to pretend with you. Come on girls, let's go. The men can take care of the check." She finished grabbing her purse and making her way to the car with Katherine, Lexi, and Elena in tow.

"Holy shit girl that was amazing." Katherine exclaimed as they got inside, Elena starting the car so they wouldn't be late.

"Whatever. Let's get out of this dump. I need a fucking drink."

"That's my girl." Elena smiled as she put the car in drive and made way to Stefan's Halloween party.

"Do you mind telling me what that was about?" Elena asked after she had waved Katherine and Lexi on so that her and Caroline would be in the car alone.

"I'm just tired of everyone keeping secrets okay. I try my hardest to be honest with people and they can't even give me a fraction of what I give to them."

"That doesn't mean that you immediately dump someone because they're not an open book Caroline. No offense but I think this time you're in the wrong."

"Not when it comes in between my relationship I'm not."

"I think you're what's coming in between your relationship Caroline. Klaus is the best thing that's happened to you in a while, why the fuck would you want to jeopardize that?"

"Maybe because in my heart I know that Klaus and I will never be meant to last. I mean how can I when he's stuck here with his child and with me possibly going to a college far away?"

"It doesn't mean you stop trying Caroline. That's exactly why I warned you not to get into this too fast. To take your time, because the more you get invested in this, the more it ends up hurting you in the long run. Is that what you want?"

"No. It's not."

"Then take tonight to figure out what you really want and then call Klaus in the morning and apologize, because even if you really are over it doesn't give you a free pass to end on bad terms with him."

"Yeah. You're right. But do you know what I can really use right now?"

"What's that?"

"A fucking drink."

"It's as if you read my mind." Elena smirked as she turned off her ignition and the two girls headed into the party ready to have the time of their lives no matter what.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" a voice asked from behind her as Caroline looked behind her to see Stefan stepping out onto his back porch and sitting beside her holding out a beer which she happily accepted and popping the top off of his taking a gulp while she continued to look at the stars.

"Elena went to go find Damon and I needed a break from the crowd, so I decided to come out here to enjoy some peace and quiet for a while. What about you? What are you doing out here?"

"I saw you out here by yourself and thought it would be a perfect opportunity for us to talk. I feel as if I haven't seen you in ages."

"Well I've been around so- "

"I know, I guess we both been busy. I hear that's what happens with seniors all the time."

"Well from now on if you want to talk text me. I mean we are friends after all, and I would hate to lose you as a friend just because of our history together."

"Right back at you Forbes."

"So where is Ivy? I thought she would be here tonight, and I haven't spotted her yet."

"My guess is she probably gathered around a group of her closest friends telling them that I'm not shit. "

"Oh. Did you two-?"

"Yeah. A week or so again."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You seemed so happy after you and Klaus came back from that trip that I didn't want to inconvenience you with my problems or with my presence. I thought you wouldn't want to hear about it seeing as how we're not exactly close anymore."

Without thinking about it, Caroline grabbed Stefan's hand giving it a reassuring squeeze and holding onto it, not in a flirting way, but in a way that showed him that she was there for him. No matter what was going on with them romantically, she really had missed being Stefan's friend and she really missed how he would talk to her about anything. She needed him in her life almost as much as he needed her, because that was what a friend was. Two individuals who couldn't live without each other.

"No matter what's going on in my life Stefan, I always want you to tell me what's going on with you. You're one of my best friends and I care about you, you will never be a burden to me. I just hope that you feel the same way about me as I do you."

"I do which is why I've been wondering why you're not here with Klaus."

"We got into an argument and now I'm not sure how we're going to fix it."

"I'm sure that you'll find a way."

"What if I talk with him and he still doesn't want to be together?" she asked voicing her biggest fear to the one person she shouldn't be.

"Then I guess that's just a chance that you'll have to willing to take, but between you and me, if that boy lets you go then he's the dumbest son of a bitch that I have ever met."

"Thanks Stefan. If it's any conception Ivy really missed out on a great guy."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I'm the one who broke up with her."

"And why would you do that?"

"I didn't feel anything. I know what the real thing feels like and my relationship with her wasn't it, so I let her go."

"That must have been hard for you."

"Harder than you could imagine, but enough moping we need to turn this party around."

"And how would you suggest we do that?"

"Well I have a keg stand in my kitchen and I was really hoping that you would participate in it."

"You know that's not really my thing Stefan."

"Neither are parties and yet here you are."

"Touché. Alright. You got me. Let's go do your keg stand and then maybe this party will start to get interesting."

"Oh Forbes, you should know that the party has just begun." He smiled opening his door for her as they went to the kitchen where Tyler and Matt were standing by the keg stand waiting for some unfortunate soul to come over and participate. She guessed that the next unfortunate soul would be her.

"What's up Forbes? Ready to take on the keg stand." Donavan smiled as Caroline shrugged.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

"Sweet. Salvatore lift her other leg while Tyler puts the tube in her mouth." Donavan instructed.

"Works for me." Stefan agreed as he grabbed onto Caroline and they lifted her flipping her backwards and positioning her just right so that she could drink.

The rush felt exhilarating as Caroline chugged as fast and as deep as she could trying hard to stay up as she felt herself slipping before she could stop herself. She slipped out of Matt's grip tilting over sideways and landing straight on Stefan, the full weight of her body crashing into his. Shit. She really hoped that she hadn't hurt him.

Flipping over she got off Stefan sitting up as he struggled to sit up their eyes locking with each other as she exhaled in relief. At least he wasn't too hurt.

"Shit Stefan I'm so sorry."

"It's alright Care. It wouldn't be the first time I took brute force from that body of yours. Are you okay or do you need help getting up?"

"I think I'll be fine. "she said getting up as he stood up with her grinning from ear to ear.

"What's that smile for?"

"You actually seemed like you were having fun."

"Yeah I was, until you dropped me that is."

"Sorry about that. Won't happen again. How about I make it up to you?"

"How so?"

"Would you care to dance Miss Forbes?"

"Eh. What do I got to lose?" she answered taking his outstretched hand as they danced onto the dance floor laughing and having a good time just forgetting about everything and everybody while they danced. That was until a sexier song came on making the situation feel as awkward as one could imagine when one was dancing with their ex.

"We can stop dancing if you want, we're about to start the main festivities anyway."

"No. I don't mind. Let's just continue dancing."

Nodding almost nervously, Stefan and her danced close keeping up with the pace of the song as their hips swayed and grinded with each other's as he lifted her up twirling her around from behind and dipping her from time to time like he used to when they were together. She had to admit that dancing with him was getting intense. Probably on of the more intense moments of her life. That was before the song ended and Caroline glanced over to see the one person looking at them that she hoped would never see the two like this as he made his way towards them parting the crowd without the least bit of concern until he made his way over to them.

"Klaus, I can- "Caroline started before he put a hand up to silence her.

"We need to talk that is if you can tear yourself away from Stefan long enough to have an actual adult conversation."

"Listen Klaus, I don't want to get in between yours and Caroline's fight, but I don't need a scene at my party just because you're butt hurt that Caroline was dancing with me."

"This is between me and my girlfriend Salvatore, so I suggest you let me talk with her alone before I put my fist somewhere where it hurts."

Puffing up his chest, Stefan stepped towards Klaus ready to start something that nobody wanted as she stepped in front of him putting hear hand on his chest in warning. The last thing she wanted was for anyone in this scenario to get hurt.

"He's right Stefan. I need to handle this by myself. Please understand."

"If she's not back in twenty minutes or if you lay one hand on her it's your ass Mikaelson." Stefan replied as Caroline sent him a nod of thanks as she went outside with Klaus ready to accept her fate no matter what that was.

"So, what we get into one little fight and you run straight back to Stefan. Weren't you even going to try working this out?" Klaus huffed sitting on the stone ledge as Caroline kicked at the gravel underneath her shoe obviously frustrated at how this was all turning out.

"Of course, I was Klaus. I just needed- "

"To fuck him one last time so that you could find out if sticking it out with me was really worth it."

"No. Of course not. What I needed was to have fun and clear my head for a while Klaus. And I can't do that when I'm around you."

"But yet you can do that with Stefan."

"Yes. But it's not what you think."

"Then enlighten me Caroline."

"Stefan gets me out of my head and gets me to have fun occasionally, and I know that upsets you, because you think that means I want to get back with him, but I don't Klaus. I don't want to get back with Stefan, because I don't have nearly as much of a connection with him as I do with you. Things are just easier when he's around. There's nothing more to it than that."

"Well I'm sorry if a relationship with me is so complicated Caroline, but that's apart of being an adult is taking both the good and the bad with every relationship."

"That's just the thing Klaus, I'm not an adult. I still have such a long way to go before I'm fully there and I get that we're both at different points of our emotional maturity, so I'm not always going to have the reaction that you want me to haver and I'm not sorry about that, because what I need from you Klaus is honesty. That's all I ever wanted. I just want you to be honest with why you're having trouble letting me in, because I can take it."

"Like I said I can't tell you everything yet Caroline. I know it's frustrating, but we've only been dating for a month or two and it's been me and Hope for so long that it's hard to let someone in again. Especially if it means I might hurt her in the process. Does that make sense?"

"I would never do anything to hurt Hope Klaus. You have to believe me on that."

"That's the thing Caroline, you can't make that promise. Everyone gets hurt eventually and that's something I must keep in mind every single day for the rest of my life. So, when I tell you that I need time to open and let you in please understand that I'm only doing it because both Hope and I have been hurt in the past. And that hurt can never be fixed with just a couple of band aids. I never want to make you feel unwanted Caroline or second best, but Hayley will always be my first love and Hope's mother and yes maybe it is toxic and irrational that I'm letting Hayley be a part of our life, but it's my mistake to make and I need you to let me make it. Do you understand that?"

"Yeah I think I do and I'm sorry about blowing up at you before. I guess I was jealous and insecure. I feel as if we're not going as fast as I would like for us to go and that's no one's fault. It's just the way it is, but sometimes when you defend Hayley like you do, I feel as if you care about her way more than you care about me."

"I care about you both. Is that not enough?"

Sighing, Caroline sat down next to him taking his hand which still felt surprisingly warm in hers. She was thankful that he wasn't pulling away. Maybe they still could fix this. No matter how broken it was.

"For right now it'll have to be."

Nodding, Caroline kept her hand in Klaus's as he looked up at her with appreciative eyes knowing they were far off from fixing all their problems, but in that gaze, she felt hope that they could get through anything. It would just take time.

"I'm sorry things got so ugly between us." She whispered.

"Me too." He smiled and before he could say anything else Stefan stepped out onto the porch looking down at their intertwined hands and giving a slight smile to her. He was being supportive, and she was rather grateful for it.

"I take it you two fixed things?"

"Not quite, but we made progress. I'm sorry for being so hostile with you before Stefan. I was pissed off and I saw you two at the wrong time to where it struck a nerve with me. "

"It's all good Mikaelson. I was out of line as well. I guess we both let our temper get the best of us, but I'm out here to extend an olive branch."

"And what would that be?" Caroline asked suddenly interested.

"Well we have to turn down the noise a little because of a noise compliant, but that just means it's the perfect time to drive up to our next location."

"Next location?" Klaus asked looking at Caroline, but she had no answer to give him, she had no real clue where the hell they were going but knowing Stefan and Damon it would be a lot of fun.

"A few of us are going to have a little Halloween fun. You down?"

"I'm in if she is."

"Sounds good to me." She smiled as Klaus helped her up wondering what the hell they were in for next.

"Klaus! Caroline! Over here!" a voice yelled as Katherine and Elijah sat on the edge of Elena's car. She guessed Klaus hadn't shook Elijah off after all.

"Where's Lexi?" she asked ignoring Elijah and looking around for her sister.

"She told Damon she didn't want to come and I'm not going to drag her out of there if she doesn't want to go. She'd probably be safer here anyway."

"Yeah. I guess you're right. I think I'll go with Klaus, but I need to know where we're going."

"Do you remember the haunted corn maze our parents used to take us to as kids?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"We're all heading over there. Are you still in? I know how much it terrified you when we were kids."

"Well it is a year for new experiences so why not let's do it. "

"That's my girl. I'll see you over there."

"See you then." She said as Elena climbed into her car and Caroline told Klaus where they were going.

"A haunted corn mazes."

"I know it sounds weird but it's actually a lot of fun and the proceeds go to charity so you can't get any better than that."

"Well in that case it would be a shame if we didn't go."

"Last one to the car pays for the cost of admission." She teased as he smiled down at her.

"You're on."

"That was actually a lot more fun then I would have expected." Klaus smiled as they exited the maze hand in hand feeling closer than they had before. Their fight had seemed so far away now, and she was relieved for that.

"I told you. Mystic Falls is a lot more fun than you think."

"I'm starting to see that. Hopefully I'll be able to enjoy all of them with you."

Smiling, Caroline learned in for a kiss which he happily accepted as Elena and Damon came out of the maze interrupting them as they pulled away from each other and concentrated on their friends.

"So, does this mean the party is over for the night?"

"It's as if you don't know Stefan and Damon. Now it's just a chill ass night where we watch movies and get cozy with our significant others. What do you two say? Are you in?"

"Depends on if I can shake my guard dog." Klaus replied looking towards the maze and Elena smiled.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Let's just say that after you two left for the maze, Katherine convinced Elijah to stay at the house for the night, so if Elijah is staying there, you two can too and let's just say is I think Elijah will be too busy with Katherine to even notice the two of you."

"First off TMI and secondly I guess now we have no choice but to stay. At least for a little while." Caroline smiled as Klaus rubbed her back gently.

"Well in that case, how could I say no?" Klaus smiled making Caroline feel that she was in for the perfect night.

"For you my lady." Klaus smiled handing Caroline a beer as he got back under the blanket and they concentrated on the movie that was playing. They had been there for a while and most everyone had dozed off including Elena, Damon, Katherine, and Stefan. The only ones that seemed to still be awake were her, Klaus, and Elijah yet something still seemed as if it were amidst.

"Thank you." She said looking around to make sure she wasn't just being paranoid.

"Is there something wrong?" Klaus asked as Caroline finally figured it out.

"I can't find Lexi. Did she tell you that she was leaving at all?"

"No, but you know her, she might have left with one of her other friends, she's done it before."

"I know, but I usually at least see her before she leaves or at least throughout the party. She didn't even text me to say that she got home alright."

"Is that unusual behavior for her?"

"No, but I don't know Klaus something just doesn't feel right."

"Then we'll go look for her." Elijah interrupted as Klaus and Caroline looked over to him, he was now standing up alert as ever.

"Sounds good to me." Caroline said grabbing her beer and making her way past everybody who was now sleeping and dialed Lexi's number which went straight to voicemail after a few rings. "Dammit Lex, where are you?"

"Where was the last place you saw her?" Elijah asked as they moved down the hall her heart pounding.

"I-I don't remember."

"Is one of her friends here? Maybe they saw her and can tell us where she is."

"I didn't see any of them here when I first arrived."

"We'll keep looking." Klaus cut in feeling agitated with Elijah which Caroline was grateful for.

"Maybe we should check in the bedrooms." Elijah said making Caroline feel uneasy.

"What are you trying to imply?"

"That your sister is fifteen years old and at a party with a bunch of hot guys who are probably all over her most of the time."

"Pleaser don't talk about my sister like that."

"Just trying to be realistic."

"Enough. We're trying to find Lexi, not squabble with each other over Lexi's sexual experience. "Klaus interjected making both shut the fuck up.

"I still say we should check in the rooms. There's not many other places that she would be that we wouldn't notice."

"Fine Elijah we'll check the bedrooms first."

A couple doors later, Caroline stepped in the room full of a bunch of boys in a circle passing around something that Caroline had never expected to see in her life. Needles. We're they seriously shooting up in here.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Caroline asked making all of them look at her.

"Shit. It's Forbes. We have no clue where the hell Lexi is." One said giving Caroline an uneasy feeling.

"I didn't ask about Lexi, but how the hell do you even know who she is? Or who I am for that matter?" Caroline asked making them all look at each other. They were so obviously busted so they might as well tell her the truth right now while she was still going easy on them.

"Come on Caroline you can't be that oblivious when it comes to Lexi. It's obvious that she's fucked every single one of us in exchange for something that she can't refuse."

"What the fuck are you talking about? What the hell did my sister want from all of you?"

Before they could answer a loud thud sounded from the bathroom as Caroline barged all the way into the room and moved towards it only to be blocked by one of the drugged-out assholes before she could open it.

"Get the fuck out of my way." She warned narrowing her eyes. If she had to fight this bitch she would.

"I can't let you go in there. "

"I suggest you get out of the way before my brother and I teach you a lesson." Elijah fumed distracting the guy enough to where Caroline could push him out of the way and unlock the door screaming at what she saw and threw herself to where her sister now laid on the floor with a needle in her arm and vomit splayed across her mouth.

"Lexi! Lexi! Wake up. No. No. No. Lexi come on. Wake up. This can't be happening."

Caroline turned to where Elijah and Klaus stood there shocked. Klaus looked frozen as if he were in another time or another place, but unlike Klaus, Elijah sprung into action getting the needle out of Lexi's arm and shouting instructions like he had done this before. But that made no sense. Had Elijah been around for Hayley's overdose too?

"We have to call an ambulance. I can do what I can, but she needs a medical professional." Elijah instructed her as she nodded standing up, her legs feeling like Jell-O. This couldn't be happening as she got to her phone and dialed the number.

"911 what's your emergency?"

"I need an ambulance at the Salvatore Boarding House. It's my sister. I believe she's having an overdose and we-we can't find a pulse."


	16. Chapter 16

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 16

Heart racing, Palms sweeting. Caroline taped her foot in a fit of impenitentness she sat in the cold, hard waiting room chair wanting nothing more than to hear an update on her sister Lexi. After what Caroline had witnessed, she had to make sure Lexi was okay. How the hell had she let this happen? How the hell had she forgotten to check in on her own sister? Maybe if she wasn't so busy with her own minuscule problems, she would have seen the signs before Lexi had overdosed in the first place. Maybe she wouldn't be in this hospital waiting room with the room feeling as if it were suffocating her little by little. She hated hospitals. She hadn't been to this one since her father's death.

Hospitals. The stench of death in her nostrils. The taste of smoke in her lungs as she chocked to get it out. Her father dead. Lifeless. Rushed to the hospital. His flesh burned from being consumed by the explosion of fire. Her mother retching in tears as she held Caroline close refusing to ever let her go. But Lexi. What about Lexi? Who had hugged her after their father's death? Who had made sure that she was breaking slowly inside like Caroline was? Lexi. With the needle in her arm. Lexi, who was covered in scars that neither Caroline nor Liz noticed. Lexi who was now fighting for her life like her dad had tried to. Needles. Lexi dying on the floor, covered in her own vomit as Caroline sat there holding her useless. Always useless when others needed her. Why the hell was she such an awful, selfish person. She couldn't take this anymore. She had to do something, anything to keep herself busy. Sitting there looking like a fidgeting mess was helping anything or anybody. She had to be useful.

Standing up, Caroline paced the floor trying to calm down so she wouldn't do more harm than good as Elena observed her carefully trying her best to not make it worse. She wished it was just Elena seeing her at her worst. At least Elena was used to it. But instead Caroline was surrounded by Klaus, Stefan, Elena, Damon, and surprisingly Elijah. Katherine had opted to stay at the house, and she didn't blame her. This was heavy shit and Katherine and Caroline had never been that close.

The doors to the waiting room opened as Elizabeth Forbes emerged through them, her face showing every single emotion as she moved towards Caroline a look of determination coursing through her. Shit. She was in so much trouble. Not that she didn't deserve her mother's wrath at this point.

"Mom- "but before Caroline could explain to Liz what had happened, she had put a hand up to silence her not wanting to hear what had happened before they had called the hospital.

"Don't. How could you be so irresponsible? I trusted you to watch your sister and now she's lying in a hospital bed because of you. You should be ashamed of yourself. How could I ever trust you again after all you've put me through these past couple of years?"

"Mrs. Forbes, You know that's not fair. it wasn't Caroline's fault that Lexi overdosed. She can't watch her twenty-four seven and it wasn't like she shoved those drugs down Lexi's throat either. You have to make Lexi accountable for her actions too not just Caroline." Stefan answered stepping up next to Caroline as her mother turned her full attention to him more pissed than she had been before. Why couldn't Stefan just do them all a favor and shut the fuck up when he knew this wasn't his place?

"I'm aware of that Stefan, but Caroline is Lexi's sister. She should be looking out for her instead of being so selfish and self-centered. How did Lexi get the drugs in the first place? Why didn't Caroline see her go towards the room where it happened? And how do you have the nerve to sit here and question me on my reaction when it was your party that my daughter overdosed at? I have half a mind to call your parents and tell them they need to keep a better eye on you. Separated or not that is no reason to neglect your own children."

Anger boiled through Caroline as she felt her jaw clenching. It was one thing to blame her for her sister's overdose, but it was another thing to bring up Stefan's parents' separation when all he was trying to do was defend her. Well, enough was enough. It was finally time Caroline gave her mother a piece of her mind once and for all.

"You have some nerve commenting on anyone's parenting style. "

"Excuse me."

"Have you ever thought that maybe Lexi wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed if you tried to be a better mother for once? I mean you're hardly ever home and when you are home all you do is nag us about every possible thing that you can or bringing home your stupid, ass boyfriend that you care about so much more than you do us. Did you ever once consider catching up with us, so you could figure out what was happening with us. No, because ever since dad died you have been nothing but a shitty ass mom, and everyone can see it except you. How tragic is that?"

"We are not having this conversation here Caroline Elizabeth Forbes. Right now, your sister's condition is my focus not your ill-mannered temper tantrum about things that are irrelevant. Now if you don't excuse me, I'm going to check up on your sister and we'll continue with this conversation later." Her mother warned as she moved passed Caroline and Stefan as Stefan stood there, mouth agape.

"Caroline I- "

This time Caroline held up her hand to silence him. The last thing she wanted was Stefan of all people to comfort her after what had just happened. What she really needed right now was Klaus, but unfortunately, she couldn't see him or Elijah anywhere. Where had they gone? Did they run for cover when they had seen her mother enter the hospital?

"Please Stefan don't. You've done enough. Thanks for trying anyway." she struggled to get out through the tears as Elena came up to them touching Stefan's shoulder silently letting him know that she had this as he nodded giving Caroline one last hug before he went back to his chair to wait with everyone else.

"Are you okay? I heard everything and what your mother said sounded harsh. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"Between Lexi's condition and my mother blaming me for her overdose, I think it's safe to say that, no, I'm not okay, but I appreciate you being there for me."

"She's just upset Care. I'm sure she didn't mean the things she said to you."

"Elena, I've been around my mother long enough to know that she means everything she says even when she's this angry. So please don't try to convince me otherwise."

"I won't try to convince you of anything Care, but let's go get some coffee and food, you look like you need it right now."

"Alright." She said following Elena to the cafeteria not knowing what life had in store for her next.

"Do you think hospital food is as bad as they claim it is?" Elena asked as Caroline shrugged knowing the exact answer to Elena's question, but not willing to answer it. She didn't really feel like talking to anyone right now, all she wanted to do was be alone and blame herself for everything that had gone wrong. Unfortunately, Elena was not going to let her do that, like any good friend would. Had Caroline been wrong about her after all?

"You have to tell her." A voice commanded. The carrier sounding oh so familiar.

"Is that Elijah?" Elena asked as recognition finally overcame Caroline. That was why the voice had sounded familiar, but who was he talking to?

"Don't you think I know that Elijah? I know that eventually I'll have to tell her about everything that happened in my past, but I don't think I'm ready to take that step with her at least not yet." A voice that she knew all too well said as her heart sank further. This was it. The thing he had been keeping from her. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop on their conversation, but she had to know what he was keeping from her. After all she had been through, she deserved to know at least that.

"Is that- "Elena started.

"Klaus." She answered silencing Elena with her response.

"How long do you expect to keep this secret from her Klaus, she deserves to know the truth and you should be the one to tell her not anybody else before it's too late."

"What if I tell her and she hates me for it?"

"Then that's a risk you're going to have to be willing to take Klaus. She's already going to have a tough time dealing with her sister's addiction without having to worry about if you're going to relapse from yours. She deserves better than that and if you're not going to tell her than I will, so you better tell her, and you better tell her fast before you lose the one good thing that you've had in a while.

Dread filled Caroline's stomach as she turned over Klaus and Elijah's conversation repeatedly in her mind. Klaus. An addict. Was it true? And if he was a former addict, how come she never noticed the signs. Had he hidden them from her this whole time? Or had she been that oblivious? One thing was for sure, she had to find out. It was time that all their secrets were out in the open. No more secrets and no more lies. Enough was enough.

Despite Elena's attempt to pull her back, Caroline stepped out of the shadows and into Klaus and Elijah's line of vision where they looked at her mouths agape as Klaus's face turned stark white realizing that the secret he had been keeping from her for so long had finally been let out in the open. And now he had a lot of explaining to do.

"I think I'm ready to hear the truth now." She said sternly as Klaus and Elijah looked at each other as if having a silent conversation. No. There was no hiding the truth now. No deflecting it. He had to tell her or risk losing her forever.

"I'll leave you two alone to talk." Elijah replied as Elena squeezed her shoulder reassuringly before leaving with Elijah and leaving Klaus and Caroline alone.

"Caroline- "

"When were you going to tell me?"

"I don't know. I've tried telling you, so many times, but it never seemed to be the right time."

"So, when would be the right time? When you potentially relapse or when your ex shows up at your doorstep and tells me everything that you've been keeping from me? But you can save us all a lot of time and trouble by just telling me the truth now. Or are you just going to sit there and lie to my face yet again?"

"It's a long story."

"I have nothing but time. So, please tell me the truth before it blows up in your face."

"I haven't been completely honest with you."

"I figured, please continue."

"Hayley wasn't the only one addicted to drugs Caroline. After we met, I went down a slippery slope. One that I couldn't escape from no matter how hard I try. Hayley introduced me to her friends, who introduced me to drugs and from the very first moment they touched my lips, I was addicted. And throughout Hayley's pregnancy, we were high as kites having the time of our lives with very little remorse about what it would do to our daughter. Some nights I would feel guilty for it, but some nights I didn't feel anything at all and when that nagging feeling just became too much for me, I turned to the needle yet again to tune them out. It was selfish and irresponsible, but back then I didn't care for anything or anybody until I had one of the worst experiences of my life."

"Hayley's overdose."

Klaus nodded affirming her suspicions as she exhaled not wanting to believe what she was hearing, but knowing she had no choice but to listen to what Klaus was trying to tell her. She knew no matter how hard this was for her to hear that it was more difficult for him to share this story with her. She just had to be willing to listen.

"I know you told me this story before, but that was when you were hiding this from me instead of telling me the whole truth. You can tell me now; I'll try to keep an open mind."

"Are you sure? This story won't be easy to hear."

"It's an important story for you to tell and I would be even more of a bitch if I didn't let you share with me the ugly side of your past, so please tell me what's going on."

"Alright, the day started out like any other- "

Running his hands through her silky brown hair, Klaus kissed Hayley's temple as she snuggled up next to him wanting nothing more than to soak up her time with Klaus before their high wore off and reality crashed around them. These times were always the best. When it was just the two of them and nothing in the world could touch them. This was the time they felt infinite, on top of the world, that was until Hope's loud pitch wail brought them down to earth making Hayley grown in annoyance as Klaus untangled from her to go check what Hope needed now.

"God, I wish she would just shut up for once." Hayley replied sending an annoyed look over to Hope as Klaus picked her up feeling like his flesh was burning when he picked her up. Shit. This couldn't be happening. Not now when they were almost out of their supply. The last thing he wanted to deal with was a fussy and sick baby on top of everything else.

"She's burning up. Where that damn thermometer?" he sighed placing Hope back in her crib as Hayley shrugged utterly useless when it came to these sort of things. Some mother she was.

"Check in her baby bag." Hayley replied as her phone chimed signaling an incoming message that she seemed to care more about then her own daughter being sick.

Going to the other side of the room, Klaus rummaged through Hope's bag until he found the thermometer and took Hope's temperature. Shit. It was one hundred and two degrees. There was nothing worse than a sick baby. Well, instead of one of his downers. That always sucked as well.

"She's running a fever Hales. We need to give her something for it."

"Of course, she is. We don't have medicine for her here, so you're going to have to make a run to the store to go get her some."

"Fine." He said grabbing his jacket and putting it on ready to go out before Hayley called to him.

"What's up?"

"Ugh Markos just texted he got a new shipment in and he'll cut us a deal for some if you come by tonight and give him what he wants."

"I have to get Hope's medicine."

"She'll be fine for a couple of hours. You know Markos he never makes a deal twice. Do you really want to miss out on that?"

"I'll stop by. See what shit he's trying to sell us."

"Thanks baby." Hayley smiled as Klaus gave her a goodbye kiss before walking out the door.

"Mikaelson, it's been a while since I've seen you, how have you been?" Markos answered grinning from ear to ear as soon as Klaus had showed up at his doorstep.

"Markos! Who's' at the door?" a voice asked making Klaus want to instantly roll his eyes. Of course, Peyton had to be there. He was hoping on making this a short visit, but now with Peyton there she would want to chat for hours. Which was something he didn't feel like doing?

"It's Klaus!" he yelled back turning his attention back to Klaus. "Well don't just stand there looking all weird and shit. Come on in. There's plenty of shit to go around and if you're thirsty I have several different ways to quench your thirst."

Nodding, Klaus followed Markos inside as he looked towards the sofa setting his eyes on the most drop dead gorgeous women, he had ever laid eyes on. Sure Hayley had a killer body and on occasion she had the best personality, but this girl before him looked older, mature beyond her years with flaming red hair that reminded him of a sunset and green eyes that were so intense they seemed to bore into his soul. Who was this magnificent creature? And where had she come from?

"Why hello, I haven't met you before. What's your name?" she asked her luscious lips forming the words that enticed his soul.

"Klaus. And yours?"

"Aurora, but for all intents and purposes you can call me Aura."

"Well then it's nice to meet your acquaintance Aura."

"So, Klaus, how do you know Markos?"

"Are you really that vapid Aura? Obviously, I'm his dealer and he's here on official business. Him and his girlfriend are my best customers. They're always getting high and needing shit, so they make for good business."

"Doesn't mean that he's all business. I bet he likes pleasure as well." She added fixating on him with those eyes of her.

"Which is why he has a girlfriend Aura. Leave him be, he's obviously in a hurry to get out of here and get home."

"It's a shame you can't stay even if it's for a little while."

"Unfortunately having a sick baby makes it hard to enjoy my time anywhere else."

"You have baby?"

"Yes, My daughter. She's two months old."

"Aw. What's her name?"

"Hope."

"Gorgeous name. I bet with a father as gorgeous as you, she'll get all the boys when she's older."

"Well thankfully I won't have to worry about that for a very long time. So, what kind of stuff do you have today?" he asked turning his full attention to Markos. He was right after all. He was in a hurry.

"Depends what are you looking for? I have Hayley's stash in a bag right here, because she texted me what she wanted but I still have no clue what you want. So Mikaelson, what will it be? Pick your poison."

"Got any coke?"

"You know it. I'll even let you test it out right here if you want. Make it a real party."

"I don't think I should."

"Oh, come on Hayley does it all the time when she's over here. Why can't you have a little fun for once?"

"Well one of us has to be the responsible one and we know that's not going to be Hayley."

"That's for sure. You don't even know the half of it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, come on Klaus, you can't be that oblivious."

"Oblivious about what Markos? What aren't you telling me?"

"It's not my place to tell you what Hayley does when you're not around. You just must trust me that you need to let loose. Hayley hates it when you're so uptight."

"Well maybe I wouldn't be so uptight if she took care of the kid occasionally. Or god damn the least she could do is suck me off every now and then for a job well done."

"You think with all the dudes she sucks off for drugs she wouldn't mind doing it to her own baby daddy." Peyton replied getting a cold look from Markos as Klaus looked between the two of them. Even Aura had grown silent.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" he asked voice growing cold with each word he spoke.

"I'm sorry. I-I thought you knew. It's not like Hayley keeps it a secret."

"Well obviously she doesn't tell everyone. So, tell me Markos, has she ever sucked you off for the drugs you've given us?"

"Every now and then when she was out of money. But it didn't mean shit. She was just a mouth you know what I mean?"

"Yeah. I think I do." He replied as he punched Markos making both girls scream out in terror.

"Okay. I deserved that. Are we good now?"

"Depends, did you ever full on fuck her?"

"I'm going to be honest with you man, yeah I've fucked her along with a few other guys. She especially loves orgies when she's hanging with me and the other guys. Says it's thrilling for her."

"You son of a bitch."

"Don't blame the player, Blame the game."

"Why did you do it? You know how much she means to me."

"She might mean a lot to you Klaus, but you mean nothing to her."

"She's the mother of my child Markos. We're living together and raising Hope on our own. How can I mean nothing to her when she's willingly doing that?"

"Are you really that oblivious?"

"Stop fucking around with me and tell me what the hell is going on."

"She's living a lie Klaus. She doesn't love you, hell the openly reason she came onto you in the first place was because your brother was unavailable."

"What does any of this have to do with Elijah?"

"The only reason Hayley is still with you is because she's hoping to get closer to Elijah. The only reason she still pretends to give a shit is because she's hoping to be with Elijah one day and she can't do that if you're not in the picture."

"Elijah would never go for that."

"Are you sure he already hasn't?"

"What do you know?"

"I know that Elijah spends all his free time around Hope and Hayley."

"He's watching Hope for me while I'm at work."

"Yeah and fucking her behind you back. Hayley tells me all about it when you're not around."

"Why would he do this to me? Why would they do this to me?"

"Because they love each other and you're just in the way."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Do I have any reason to lie?"

"No." he answered collapsing onto the couch as Peyton and Aurora rubbed his shoulder.

"Sorry Klaus, I don't know what to say. Hayley is a fucking bitch and all she does is use people. I'm sorry you had to be apart of that equation to get to her overall plan."

"Do me a favor and give me the fucking coke man. Hope and that fucking cunt can wait for me to get back home."

"I'll do you one better. Hey Aura, let Klaus do a line from your stomach." He said handing her the baggie.

"With pleasure." She smiled pulling up her shirt to reveal a sexy white lace bra as she laid down on the couch, Peyton giving her room and sitting on Markos's lap as he handed Klaus a dollar which he rolled up. Just like he usually did when he was here.

Making a line on her stomach, Klaus snorted the coke giving him a rush as Aurora smiled back at him.

"I have a way to get back that bitch of yours." She giggled placing her hands on her shoulders and underneath her bra straps tempting him to do more than just a line of coke offs her.

"And what would that be?"

"Put that bitch in her place. Have sex with me and show her how the fuck it feels to be stepped out on."

"She wouldn't believe me if I told her."

"Then have Markos record us. He'll be more than willing to do it. He owes you one after all."

"I mean it would be great to see the look on her face."

"Awesome. Here give Marko your phone and we'll give her a show."

"Sounds like a plan." He said smashing his lips to hers as they devoured each other damning the consequences as each passing moment went by. Fuck Hayley. Fuck Elijah. This was his own personal heaven. And he never wanted to come down.

"Do you have to go?" Aurora frowned slightly as she leaned against Markos's door frame twirling a strand of her red hair as Klaus shoved the plastic baggies and his phone in his pocket as he gave her one last kiss knowing for sure that this was only a one-time thing.

The only reason he had slept with her in the first place was to get back at Hayley and now that she had seen the video Klaus was for sure going to end things tonight throwing that stupid bitch to the curve and taking his daughter far, far away from her. Hope deserved better. He deserved better. He just had to figure out how to achieve this better place.

"I have to get back to my kid. God knows her mother is a fuck up and doesn't know what she's doing."

"Well hopefully she finds a better mother soon. You have my number now. Don't hesitate to call. Anytime."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Aura."

"Anytime." She smiled closing the door as Klaus made his way back home ready to confront Hayley and wake up from this nightmare he had been living in all along.

"Where have you been?" a voice said from his front porch startling him as he looked up to see Elijah. Great. Just the person he wanted to see.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Hayley texted me, she said she needed me to watch Hope while she took care of something. She says you were ion a world full of trouble and she had to help you out. What the fuck did you do Klaus? You had her so worried."

"Well obviously I'm alright and I'm here now so you can fucking go home. No one wants you here."

"Hayley wants me here."

"She's a fucking liar Elijah, you shouldn't believe everything she says just because you're boning her."

Elijah's face turned a stark white as he swallowed knowing her had been caught. Fuck him. Fuck both.

"Do yourself a favor and go home Elijah, Hayley will be over in a minute after I dump her ass. I'll make it easy for the both of you, so we can all just move on."

"I just have one question first."

"Shouldn't I be the one asking questions? After all you are sleeping with my baby mama."

"What kind of drugs are you high on? Meth? Crack? I know you've been using so you might as well tell me what you're on before you even think about stepping foot into that house with your daughter inside."

"She's already inside with an addict Elijah, at least with me she's not in danger."

"Hayley loves Hope, Klaus. She would never put her in danger."

"Really? Who do you think sent me out to get these drugs in the first place?"

"No. You're lying. Hayley would never bring that shit around Hope."

"Obviously you don't know her as well as you think you do." He answered putting his key into the door as Elijah slammed him into it.

"How could you be so reckless? How could you put Hope into this situation? She could die Klaus. Did that ever cross your fucking mind?"

"Chill the fuck out Elijah, Hope is fine. Hayley is fine. We're all fine. Just do yourself a favor and go back to being oblivious just like you always are."

"Open the fucking door Klaus. We'll continue this discussion inside like proper adults."

"Fuck it. Why not? You're not going anywhere until your satisfied anyway."

Opening the door, Klaus heard Hope's high-pitched wait echo throughout the room as he rolled his eyes. Of course, Hayley wouldn't do anything right as him and Elijah stepped through the forayer entering the apartment and following Hope's wails to her room as Klaus screamed at the horrible sight.

Hayley was on the floor, vomit spewed across the room as she convulsed on the floor while Hope's cried echoed through the room in sheer terror. Fuck. What the hell had she done?

"Shit. Hayley! God fucking dammit! What the hell did you do? Elijah! Call an ambulance! Dammit Hayley! Don't do this to me! Don't do this to Hope! Fight dammit! Fight!" Klaus yelled as he held onto Hayley for dear life praying to God that she would be alright, because he didn't know what he would do if she wasn't.

Placing his head in his hands, Klaus taped his foot feeling like he was coming down as Elijah held onto Hope who was now sleeping after the doctor's had examined her and gave her something for her fever. A fever Klaus had forgotten she was fighting off until they came here. How the fuck had he been so selfish? Now Hayley was suffering the consequences.

"You can't keep doing this Klaus." Elijah commented breaking the silence for the first time in hours.

"Doing what exactly?"

"The drugs and the partying and the neglecting your responsibilities. I won't allow it. Either you and Hayley get clean or you'll both suffer the consequences."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means either you and Hayley get clean or I'll call CPS and you'll never see Hope again."

"Are you threatening me with my child?"

"Yes, because the last thing I want is for Hope to see either one of you in a body bag. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

"Yeah. I think you are."

"Then do your daughter a favor and get clean, because I'm tired of you not giving a shit. Now take care of your daughter. She needs you just as much as you need her." Elijah said placing Hope in Klaus's arms as the tears flowed and his heart shattered as he held his life in his hands pressing her close and promising never to disappoint her again.

"Caroline please say something." Klaus pleaded bringing Caroline back to the present with tears streaming down her face. This was too much, too much for her to handle. She had to get out of here. She had to get away from him as soon as possible. She thought she had known him turns out she had no real clue.

Looking away from Klaus and wiping away the tears from her face she inhaled knowing she had to get these words out, but not sure how to do it while her heart was breaking. How could she do this when the person she thought she had feelings for was right in front of her. That's what she thought before he touched her. How dare he? How dare he try to comfort her when he was the reason for her pain.

"What am I supposed to say Klaus? All this time you've been lying to me about who you are and what happened to Hayley. How could you paint her out to be the bad guy of this story when she was struggling with the exact thing that you're struggling with. Kind of hypocritical if you ask me."

"You said that you would listen."

"And I did, but that doesn't excuse the fact that you've been lying to me for months. Why did you feel the need to keep something so huge from me?"

"Because I felt that you wouldn't see the real me if I told you the full truth."

"So, you thought lying would help your case instead?"

"No. I just didn't want you to write me off because of my past. I didn't want you off because of yours. Juts please give me a chance Caroline. I don't want this to end just because we can't communicate."

"Do you really think that my problems are equivalent to yours? Seriously. I didn't choose what happened to me. You took the drugs and you pout everyone you cared about in danger. So, don't you dare say that they're the same thing, because I can assure you, they're not."

"Addiction is a sickness Caroline just like everything else. Do you really think that I'm, the bad guy just because I made a few shitty choices?"

"Choices that almost killed Hayley. Choices that made you lie to and betray people you care about even me. How can we have a real relationship when I can't even trust you to be honest with me?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"That I think us taking a break is exactly what we both need right now. You need time to learn how to be honest with yourself and others and I need time to concentrate on Lexi, because her recovery is not going to be easy for any of us and your brother was right I can't be worried about you while worrying about her. I'm afraid that if you're around an addict that you may relapse and I don't want that for you or for her, so yes it may be irrational, but I think we should go our separate ways. Because being away from you sounds like the only rational decision I've made in a while and I won't put my sister at risk to appease some fantasy of the perfect guy in my mind. I need you to respect that and stay as far away from me as you possibly can before this relationship ends up hurting us both."

"Is this what you really want?"

"For now. I think it's the best option. For both of us."

"Then I have no choice but to respect your wishes. I really am sorry Caroline. I never wanted any of this to happen. I just hope one day you could eventually forgive me, and we can try again."

"I can't think about that right now. Please just leave me be. I can't stand to look at you right now."

"I understand." He replied as he gave her a kiss on the cheek leaving her alone to her thoughts.

When she was for sure that he was out of earshot and sight she finally let herself feel everything. Getting up she walked to the wall gasping and letting it all out as she clasped her hands over her face feeling it consumed by her tears before her legs gave way under her and she crashed to the floor feeling nothing but everything at the same time in as fit of utter rage and frustration.

Before she knew it, time had passed, and footsteps echoed on the tile floor as she looked up through her tear-filled eyes to see Elena look at her with such sorrow in her eyes. Nodding, Elena sat down on the floor beside Caroline pulling her into a hug telling her that it was okay to fall apart as she did just that finally letting every emotion, she could consume her until she couldn't feel anything anymore.

"Here, drink this I figured you could use it." Damon replied handing Caroline a coffee as she gave him a silent thanks before consuming it let the warmth flow through her as she waited for more information.

"Caroline Forbes. I'm Doctor Laughlin, Lexi's doctor." She replied standing in front of Caroline as she stood up shaking the doctor's hand wanting nothing more than to know how her sister was doing.

"Nice to meet you. I just wish it was under better circumstances. How- How is Lexi doing?"

"She was struggling there for a while, but we got her in stable condition and your mother is in there with her right now."

"Thank God. Can I- Can I see her?"

"By all means. Just please let us know if anything changes."

"I will." She replied as the doctor left her alone making her feel instant relief. "I need to go see Lexi." She said to the others as Elena and Stefan exchanged looks.

"Do you want one of us to come with you?" Elena asked as Caroline shook her head knowing what she had to do now.

"I think this is something I have to do alone."

"You could have died Alexia; do you not understand that?" her mother pried as Caroline stood by the door frame listening in on the conversation before Lexi or her mother realized she was there.

"You don't think I know that mother. I'm not that stupid."

"Really because you ending up in the hospital because you overdosed tells me another story Alexia. How could you be so stupid? So reckless."

"You're the cop mom. You tell me why I would engage in this deviant behavior."

"We're not talking about me or my career Alexia, we are talking about what happened to you and why it happened. I'm trying to be as considerate to your situation as I possibly can, but I need to understand why you did it and you need to be the one to tell me."

"Then understand that I don't want to talk about it right now. I just been through a traumatic ordeal and I need my rest. So please. Leave."

"Fine, I can take a hint, but this discussion isn't over. Not by a long shot. Now if you don't excuse me, I have some brochures for treatment centers to look at." Her mother said grabbing her jacket and passing Caroline as she walked out of the hospital leaving Caroline and Lexi alone to talk.

"Have you come to brag about how I seriously fucked up my life with this one?" Lexi asked seeming aloof and distant as she stared at the window contemplating something.

Caroline wished she could have been as pissed as her mother was. She wished she could just grab Lexi by the shoulders and shake some common sense into her before it was too late, but for whatever reason Caroline didn't feel like fighting with Lexi. All she wanted was to make sure that she was okay.

"Are you okay?" she asked simply taking the chair beside Lexi's bed and holding onto one of her hands.

"I've been better." She commented sending a weak smile to Caroline as her eyelids fluttered.

"Listen, I know you don't want to talk about this and I'm the last person on this earth that you would ever want to talk to, but when I found you on the floor like that I've never been so terrified in my life. What happened Lexi? I thought everything in your life was going so well and you've always seemed so happy. What went wrong? What persuaded you to do something so reckless that you would put your own life at risk?"

"Do you know what it's like being the youngest?" she asked throwing Caroline off.

"No Lex, before you were born, I was an only child. What does any of this have to do with what happened?"

"When dad died I felt as if I were alone, that my grief wasn't as important to everyone as yours was because of your anxiety and your knowledge of the events leading up to it, but just because I was younger doesn't mean I wasn't affected by it I just dealt with my pain in a different way then you did."

"What are you talking about Lexi? What did you do?" Caroline tested fearing the answer Lexi was about to give her.

"Don't tell mom okay." She responded lifting her hospital gown making Caroline automatically gasp.

On Lexi's stomach were scars, a lot of them. Scars that she hid well. Scars that Caroline nor her mom had never seen before. Oh God. Lexi. What did you do?

"Did you- Did you do this to yourself?" Caroline gulped not sure what exactly to say. How was a person to respond to something like this?

"It started off small. Just a few cuts here and there. I never did them anywhere visible because I didn't want you or mother to see. The only reason I stopped in the first place was because of- "

"Stefan." She answered for her. It made sense. Why Lexi had such an obsession with getting him away from Caroline. It had never really had anything to do with her. How could she not see anything deeper from the situation than this?

"Yeah. Exactly."

"How-How did he figure out?"

"One night when you snuck him in to spend the night, I had forgotten to lock the door and he saw the scars before I could cover them. We talked for hours on the bathroom floor. He made me laugh, cry, and smile for the first time in a long time. I know now that he isn't the one for me, but in that moment, it felt good to have someone in my corner. Even if he was your-well friends with benefits. I-I thought me sleeping with him wouldn't bother you, so I did what I could to run into him as much as possible then one day you two got in a major fight and well you remember the rest."

"That I do." She replied trying to push back her anger. She was still pissed about everything, but now what had happened between Lexi and Stefan made some sense. She just had to sit down and listen. She had never really done that before when it came to this story.

"After that you and Stefan both hated me, Stefan hated me because I was the one thing that came between the both of you and you hated me because I had slept with the guy who you were falling for even though I had no way of knowing how serious your feelings were. I heard the big argument between you two when you refused to take him back. I sat back as he called you every dirty name in the book as he called you a worthless mess that was undeserving of his love. I thought that would be the end of it. I thought your hatred for him would thaw your hatred of me, but all it did was intensified it. And yeah, I deserved every bit of it. I deserved the name calling and you hating me, but I never expected how many people would hate me afterwards. I made a mistake Caroline, but I'm younger than you are. I just wanted someone who cared about mew like they cared about you, but you never saw that. What's worse is that you stood by as all your friends bullied me into submission. As they tore apart my reputation, because I had made the biggest mistake of my life and yeah, I hated you for it. I wanted nothing more than to see you miserable after you had made me miserable, but nothing ever seemed to work for you, all it did was make me seem like the bad guy. And yeah now I know that I deserved it, but at the time with my reputation in pieces I decided that if people were going to call me a slut and a whore that I might as well become what they were saying about me."

"Lexi, I- "

"Please let me finish."

Caroline nodded willing to be patient as Lexi continued her story.

"During all those long night out and countless blow jobs I met Lee, he was so nice and so kind before he offered me heroin. I had lightly dabbled in drugs before, I mean when you're destroying your life why not right? But nothing compared to how Heroin made me feel. I had one of the best highs of my life until I came down. I never expected to get addicted, no one ever does, until they do. And I'm not lying when I say I really want another hit right now, but then I look at everyone who came and how you and mom are reacting and there's just something that makes me want to get better. You know?"

"For once, I think I know where you're coming from. But Lexi I'm so sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"I'm sorry that I haven't always been the best sister to you. When I saw you and Stefan together, I lost it. I hated you both and I just sat there and let things happen to you, because I thought you deserved it. And I'm sorry for ever thinking that. I promise you that I will do better. And together we'll get through this."

"Why are helping me?"

"Because I've been so obsessed with my own romantic drama that I haven't even considered how you were feeling. I'm not doing that anymore. I'm going to help you through this because I'd rather you hate me for helping you then to see you die because I didn't."

Squeezing her sisters' hand, Lexi smiled at her, a single tear flowing on her cheek as their mother stepped into the room with pamphlets in her hand about drug addiction and treatment centers. It was finally time to put Lexi first.

"What's going on here?" she asked obviously still pissed at Caroline.

"Caroline helped me see that maybe getting help for my addiction will be a good thing. I know I was hesitate before when you brought it up, but I'm willing to listen."

"In that case we should probably get started." Her mother said sitting on the edge of Lexi's bed as they determined the best way to help Lexi through this.

Body convulsing, Lexi lurched up in her bed as Caroline barely caught the bed pan in time for Lexi to puke in it. Spluttering and coughing, Lexi laid back down in the hospital bed groaning as Caroline laid the bed pan back down and blotted her forehead that was creased with sweat. No one ever knows how truly awful withdrawal was until they had to go through it and Caroline had never seen her sister so vulnerable before.

"Do you need something to help with your stomach?" she asked not knowing what she should say in this type of situation.

"I feel if I consume anything, I'll just throw it back up, but thanks for asking." She replied looking out the window, lost in thought.

"You're doing great." She encouraged making Lexi sigh.

"And you should go home."

"Was it something I said?"

"No, you've just been by my side in this stupid hospital room for three whole days now and you're starting to smell. I know you're just trying to help me through this, but right now what would really help me is for you to take a shower and grab a change of clothes. Stop avoiding your own drama by dealing with mine and go take care of yourself. "

"What about mom?"

"She's working very closely with my doctors to pick the best treatment center possible, but it'll take more than a couple days to do that. Now please go home. Take a shower. Hell go hang out with Elena if you want to, just make sure you take care of yourself and come back when you're more. Presentable."

"Fine. You win, but I'm coming back first thing in the morning."

"I wouldn't have it any other way. Now please leave me to my misery I have to think for a while."

Nodding, Caroline and Lexi exchanged their goodbyes as she walked out of the hospital room not prepared for what awaited her when she got home.

"I'm surprised you called. It's been a while since I've heard from you, not that I blame you, you've had a lot going on, so what's up? How Lexi?"

"She's still in the hospital, but mom and the doctors are working together to provide her with the best care as possible. They're even talking about transferring her to the treatment center later this week."

"How do you feel about that?"

"I feel like if my sister has any chance at getting better than she should go and be with people who can help her understand this addiction. It's hard trying to get better when no one knows what you're going through."

"True. So, what are you doing now?"

"My cab driver is taking me home and I'm going to take a shower, but besides that I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing for the rest of the day."

"Did you want to spend the night? It might be easier for you and I know things are still rough with your mom."

"We haven't spoken two words to each other in these past three days. But having a break from this all does sound nice; just give me a couple hours and I'll be right over."

"See you then girl." Elena replied as she hung up and the driver pulled into Caroline's driveway taking her aback but who she saw. What the hell was he doing here?

Paying the cabbie, Caroline stepped out of the cab and walked up to Elijah looking at him up and down in disbelief as if he were not there and just a figment of her imagination.

"If you're here to speak on behalf of your brother than you could just save your breath, if I wanted to hear from him, I would have answered the first twenty times he called me this week." She fumed searching her purse for her keys. Where the hell were those keys?

"I'm not here for that."

"Then why are you here Elijah? We're not exactly friends."

"I came to ask how Lexi was doing."

"Not that it's any of your business, but we're getting her help. Now if you don't excuse me, I need a shower." Breezing past him and grabbing onto her doorknob she was about to head into her house when she heard his voice from behind her.

"That's good news. That she's getting help. A few addicts are more resistant to it at first."

"Like your brother?"

"He was at first. Until Hayley's overdose forced him to get help for his own addiction, but like I said I'm not here to talk about him."

"Then what were you hear to talk about? Because if it was just to check in on Lexi then you would have come by the hospital and asked, so why are you here anyway? What do you exactly want?"

"I also came here to see how you were doing."

"Why? You've never cared about me before. Why start now?"

"Because I know exactly what you're going through. I thought I would come here and offer you some support or rather a way for you and your family to get some."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was going through a similar thing with my brother and Hayley, I felt it shocking that I really had no one to talk to about this. Sure there was always my family and my friends but my family was very reserved about the topic at hand and my friends as much as they sympathized could never truly understand it, so I did some research and I found out that not only do some organizations help out the addicts, but there are also programs where the addicts family can talk about the struggles they're facing and I hoped that maybe they could help you out as well, because this is going to be a lifelong battle and sometimes it helps knowing there are people who know who you're going through in your corner."

"How do you even know if this will work?"

"That all depends on you. Go if you want to and if you don't that's okay too, but I would at least suggest one meeting. If you totally hate it then that's one thing you can hold over me for the rest of eternity and if you do, then you've found a group of people who can understand your side of the situation."

"I'll consider it, but I should probably get inside before Elena starts to wonder where I am. Thank you though. For the advice and for saving my sisters life. I don't know what would have happened if you weren't there."

"I'm sorry that you have to go through this. I hope it gets better for you and your family."

"Thank you for everything."

"Have a nice night Caroline."

"You as well Elijah." Caroline said as she went into her house thinking that Elijah might not have been as bad as she originally thought he was.

"I haven't seen you around here before, are you new to the group?" A girl around her age asked as Caroline looked at her in response.

"A friend told me about this group, and I thought I would stop by and check it out. I'm kind of new to all this."

"Well if it helps, we were all new once. This group helped me also when I was at my darkest place, I hope it does the same for you." She smiled.

"Thank you." She answered struggling to get out a smile as the lady grabbed a cookie from the table and walked back to her seat within the group of chairs where Caroline would be sitting soon enough, she just hoped that coming here would be worth it.

Taking a deep breath, Caroline made her way to a nearby chair sitting down and looking around the circle of all the faces she would soon be familiar with. The faces of people who were going through the same things she was going through. She just hoped that they would have some form of advice when it comes to dealing with this situation.

Looking at the double doors to the room, Caroline's eyes widened slightly as Elijah walked through the doors surprising her slightly as she shrunk back in her chair. What the hell was he doing here? She knew Klaus had dealt with addiction before, but it still didn't explain why Elijah was here if Klaus was in remission unless he had been lying to her about that too.

"Caroline. It's nice to see that you made it."

"When we spoke last you failed to mention that you were also a part of this group. I mean what could you possibly need help with?"

"Despite my brother being in remission it doesn't mean the fear of relapse still isn't there."

"Why? Has he been showing signs of a potential relapse?"

"Not that I've noticed, but he's still only at the begging of his sobriety Caroline. There's always a chance that he may not stay that way, but no matter what happens he's my family and I'll help him through it as much as I can."

"Is that the reason you didn't want us to be together? Because you thought it might be dangerous for his sobriety."

"Yes and no. Sometimes I must remind myself that you are both still teenagers and you can't understand the repercussions of having a relationship with an addict at this age, but just because you can't see them doesn't mean they're still not there. "

"What do you mean by that?"

Before he could elaborate, a woman in her mid-40's strolled in the room smiling at all the participates that had attended today as they all drew their full attention to her silencing Elijah and Caroline's conversation until a later time.

"Good afternoon everyone, I'm Dr. Fell, and I'll be leading the group for today. I see we have a few new faces in the group today. Would you like to share your name and what brought you here today?" she asked taking off her glasses and looking straight at Caroline. Fuck. She hated being put on the spot like this.

"Ugh hi, I'm-I'm Caroline and I'm the sister of an addict. I guess I'm just here to make more sense about why she would choose this path if the result doesn't seem, well, worth it. If that makes sense."

"I can assure you Caroline that everyone here feels the same way you do. This group was created as a safe space for those struggling with a loved one going through addiction so they could grasp a better understanding about why this happened and ways to find out how to deal with this process as it's happening. How long has your sister been an addict?"

"My sister and I have never been that close. I didn't even notice she was using drugs until she was overdosing on a cold bathroom floor covered in her own vomit."

"And how did that make you feel? Seeing her that way?"

"It made me feel powerless Like I was a horrible sister and she deserved better than a complete and total mess of a sister at that point."

"What makes you think that you're not a good sister?"

"I just told you, I didn't know she was addicted until it was almost too late for her. A couple more minutes and she would have been dead."

"Do you think it would have been your fault if she had died that night?"

"Yes." She answered without any reservation as Elijah gave her a sideways look. She didn't care. It's how she felt.

"And how do you think that your sisters' overdose would have been your fault?"

"Because I'm the reason that she started them in the first place."

"Did you supply her with the drugs she chose to take?"

"No."

"Did you pressure her into taking the drugs?"

"No."

"Then how did you come to the conclusion that it was your fault?"

"I'm her big sister. It's my job to take care of her and make sure that she's safe."

"You see Caroline, as individuals we tend to overthink things. You see contrary to your belief you didn't make your sister do anything and coming from a person who has a sister you can't be by her side every second of everyday. You have your own life; you should be able to enjoy it."

"Not when it comes to the expense of my sister's life."

"Well we won't reach a breaking point in the first session, but maybe hearing other stories will help you understand what you and your family are going through. And maybe it'll will bring you the tiniest bit of peace."

"Right now. I'll try anything."

"Then let's get started." She said as Caroline took a deep breath wondering what was on the other side of this session.

"Mom, can we talk?" Caroline asked as her mother shut Lexi's door leaving the two of them alone.

"I don't feel like fighting right now Caroline. Can't it wait until the morning?"

"I don't feel like fighting either. I just want to talk."

"Not here. Let's talk in the kitchen,"

Nodding, Caroline and Liz made their way to the kitchen as Liz put on a pot of water so they could both have some tea. They didn't really do this when they talked, but something about this situation called for it.

"How is she?"

"I know they say that it has to get worse before it gets better, but I didn't really know how hard this was going to be."

"No, they really don't, but I think I know of a way to help."

"Are you talking about the group you went to this afternoon?"

"Yes and no, while the group did help me understand a few things I know that it can't help me understand everything."

"I think that we've all been through a lot and that's not going to go away with just one group session."

"I agree which is why I'm thinking about going back to therapy. Dr. Fell also does private sessions and I'm thinking about going to see her just to test the waters. I think it'll help."

"I think it's a great idea, especially after everything that's happened as of lately. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"I- broke up with Klaus. I don't want to go into details. I just want to let you know."

"That's a shame. From what I knew about him, I liked him."

"Yeah. I-I did too, but sometimes things don't always work out the way you want them to." She sighed trying to fight back her tears.

"I know." Her mother said gathering her into her arms making Caroline feel for the first time that everything would be alright. She just hoped that this feeling would not deceive her like all the others had, because after all the hurt her family had gone through, they deserved a bit of happiness. She just hoped that the universe was willing to give it. No matter what the cost.


	17. Chapter 17

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 17

Author's Note: This chapter is reuploaded because I was so tired when I posted it that I forgot to edit it, so here's the edited version.

Three Weeks Later

"You know you'll be okay right?" Elena asked turning her head over to see how Caroline was feeling as they waited at a nearby stoplight. Her stomach queasy at the thought of what she was about to do.

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Because therapy sessions are designed to help you not make you feel worse. Why are you so nervous anyway? I thought you trusted this doctor to take over your sessions."

"I made that decision three weeks ago if I knew it was going to take this long to get an appointment with her then I probably would have just waited until next year to do this."

"With everything happening right now do you really think waiting longer is a smart idea?"

"Things have gotten better in the past few weeks."

"Then there's really no harm in attending the session anyway. Just try it and if you don't like it then you can pretend to go to your sessions, and we'll hang at the mall instead. With Friendsgiving approaching you know I have to prepare as much as possible."

"How can I possibly forget. Thanksgiving with friends to avoid unnecessary family drama and immediately afterwards to the mall to go black Friday shopping. It'll be good to get a distraction from everything and everyone."

"Don't worry about that. Just worry about getting through your session and we'll go over the guest list and the plan when I come to pick you up."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Now go kill that therapy session girl." Elena smiled as Caroline exited the car feeling confident that this session would bring her an odd sense of satisfaction even if it was fleeting.

"How is your sister?" Dr Fell asked as Caroline stared at the clock willing time to move faster.

"My mother and I just dropped her off at the treatment center Monday, she doesn't really have the means to call us right at this moment."

"Understandable. How did it make you feel?"

"It was hard to say goodbye to her, but I know it's what best for her and her recovery."

"How are things going at home with your sister at the recovery center? Are things difficult with your mother?"

"Truth is I've hardly been home for the past couple of weeks. I've been staying with a friend trying to give my mother some space, I think it's what's best for the both of us this moment and she doesn't seem to mind, it means that her boyfriend can stay at the house more and I'm okay with that. It's a win-win for everyone."

"What do you think of your mother's new boyfriend?"

"He seems nice enough, but between you and me, he'll never be my dad and I stand by that."

"Do you feel like sharing about your father? You haven't talked about him yet."

"I don't feel like unfolding all of this yet, at least not in this session that is."

"Understandable. How is school going? I know you're getting closer and closer to midterms."

Averting her eyes, Caroline bit the inside of her cheek fidgeting nervously as she pulled down her sleeves. This was not something she wanted to talk about.

"School is stressful. Like always."

"Care to elaborate?" Dr. Fell insisted as Caroline sighed and swept her bangs to the side tucking her hair behind her ear. Anything she could to avoid eye contact with Dr. Fell. Why the hell had she agreed to come to therapy again?

"There's just a lot of things going on with midterms, the showcase, the holidays, friends, and exes of course."

"Senior year tends to go by fast, but it can be stressful at the same time. How is studying going?"

"Well when me and Elena aren't planning Friendsgiving we're studying. I need to ace all these test if I plan on keeping my dreams and getting into one of my dream schools."

"Dream schools?"

"I've narrowed it down to either Berkley or Cornell, Emerson didn't really seem to like the perfect fit to me, so it's something."

"Is there one you're leaning more towards?"

"I guess it depends on if I get accepted into wither of them. It's up to the colleges after all."

"What happens if you get accepted into both?"

"That's something I'll have to deal with when the time comes. Right now, I have a lot to deal with."

"How is the showcase coming along?"

"It's a lot more difficult when I'm avoiding two different guys."

"We haven't talked about your love life during this session, care to share?"

"Not really. I don't seem to have much of a love life now."

"Why not?"

"I'm focusing on myself right now. After all that's happened, I think it's for the best."

"That's a good mindset to have. We'll wait until another session to talk about the boys you're avoiding at your practices."

"Is our session done for the day?"

"It is, but I think we've made some real progress. We still have a lot to work on, but I have a feeling we'll achieve a lot in the next upcoming months."

"That's good. I guess I'll see you next week."

"I will see you then." Dr Fell smiled as Caroline let her office ready to conquer the rest of her day.

"How did the therapy session go?" Elena asked as Caroline shut the door to Elena's room and flopped onto Elena's bed pulling out her notes to study for her economics midterm.

"It went okay. All she did was ask me basic questions, we didn't get into the deep stuff today, which I appreciate. I can't deal with that kind of stress right now."

"Speaking of stress, I have some news."

"What's up?"

"Before you get mad hear me out- "

"What did you do Elena?"

"I might have invited Stefan and Klaus to Friendsgiving."

"You what now?"

"Before you get angry and yell at me, remember that it's the season for forgiveness and you and Stefan were good the last time you talked so why the hell are you mad at him?"

"I'm not I don't mind him coming to Friendsgiving, I'm more concerned that you invited Klaus when you know how I feel about him right now."

"You may be pissed at him right now Caroline, but it is the season of forgiveness and I feel like this is the perfect opportunity for you to talk things out. I'm not saying get back together, I think he fucked that up for good, but just because you two aren't together doesn't mean you can't be friends. Plus, Rebekah will only come if he does and I would think you would want her there as well."

"Fine. He can come, but I'm not fixing things with him just yet. I'm not to that point yet. It has only been three weeks after all."

"I guess that's something." Elena sighed grabbing her history book rendering this conversation over as Caroline tried to calm her racing thoughts. Klaus. Here. Sher couldn't think of a worse way to spend Friendsgiving. She just hoped that everything would be okay whether Klaus was there or not. Lord help her.


	18. Chapter 18

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 18

"Are we ever going to talk about it?" Elena asked meticulously placing silverware at the table as she bored into Caroline with her eyes. They had been cooking the food for an hour straight and Caroline hadn't spoken a word since. She was still pissed, and she had every right to be despite what everyone else seemed to think.

"Talk about what exactly?" she asked stirring the gravy for the mashed potatoes and avoiding eye contact so she could ignore Elena's patronizing stares. It was the last thing she needed today of all days.

"Look you could be as pissed as you want to be at me, but that doesn't change the fact that you're being kind of unfair to Klaus at the moment."

"How am I being unfair to Klaus? He's the one who lied to me."

"He didn't lie to you Caroline. He just kept a part of his life secret because he was afraid of how you would react and seeing your reaction now, I can start to understand why."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Caroline asked slamming the wooden spoon down harder than she had intended to.

"You know exactly what it means Caroline. It's already bad enough that society doesn't have faith in him staying sober, but it must be an extra punch in the nuts that someone he's grown to care about doesn't believe in him also."

"Am I gossiping to all my friends that he's nothing but a no-good druggie who's going to end up no where in life? No. All I'm doing is being pissed off that he allowed me to get so close to him without confining in me. Am I that horrible of a person that he felt as if he couldn't trust me?"

"You and I both know that you're not a horrible person, but it doesn't mean that you don't tend to overreact every now and then. Maybe all he wanted was a normal relationship without any judgement. Have you ever once thought about that? Maybe he had a good reason from keeping things from you."

"Since when are you team Klaus?" she asked dragging out the contents she needed to make stuffing for the turkey.

"Since I've seen the way he makes you feel and to be honest when you went off on him Monday during practice it really didn't help your case."

"How many times do I have to say I didn't mean to cause a scene?"

"When you actually mean it." Elena answered sighing and tossing off her apron. "I'm going to take a shower and start getting ready. Are you going to get dressed or are you going to wander around in pajamas during the festivities also?"

"I'll change. I just have to finish the stuffing first before I text everyone to make sure they remember to bring everything."

"Far enough. I'll see you in an hour or so. It'll take some time to perfect my look for tonight."

"See you then." Caroline replied still feeling her anger in the back of her mind that Elena would bring up the incident that happened on Monday. One that she would probably soon never forget.

"Forbes! Over here!" A voice called out as she stepped into the theatre to see Stefan waving her up on the stage. A few of his friends surrounding him as Caroline mused in amazement. Usually Stefan was never this early.

Grabbing her hand and helping her onto the stage, Stefan pulled her closer, their noses nearly touching as Caroline took an automatic step back wondering why he had called her up there in the first place. They had been keeping their distance since the Lexi thing and it was killing her that they weren't talking. What had changed in the past twenty-four hour to make him suddenly talk to her again?

"Hey." She replied giving him a half smirk that she hoped was easy going as she placed her backpack down at the edge of the stage silently hoping that the heaviness of her books wouldn't force it to fall off the stage. "Long time no talk."

"I'm sorry about that. Honestly. I shouldn't have ignored you like a douche bag after all that's happened with Lexi. I just thought it would be better if I gave you some space."

"I appreciate that, but you did nothing wrong. Why would you have to be the one who gave me space?"

"Because it was my party that your sister overdosed at. Plus, I should have shut my fucking mouth during the argument between you and your mother. It wasn't my place to intrude when I know you're more than capable of protecting your own honor and I'm sorry that I was an idiot and couldn't see that."

"Well luckily, Lexi is at the center recovering and I don't blame you for what happened if it wasn't your party it may have been another and God knows I probably wouldn't have been there and my sister would probably be dead now if it was under different circumstances, so please don't blame yourself for others decisions. I tend to do that and I'm trying really hard to digress from that."

"How about we work on it together?"

"How so?"

"When one of us tries to tear themselves down let's remind each other how awesome we can be as well."

"I like that idea."

Caroline and Stefan smiled at each other as Caroline felt warmth flood her cheeks. It was times like this that Caroline was reminded why she had been interested in Stefan in the first place. She was glad he was changing even if it was ever so slightly it was more of a valiant effort then some individuals she refused to think about now. She couldn't think about that, she needed to distract herself with something else.

"I never got a chance to thank you."

"For what?"

"For standing up to my mother when you did. It actually felt kind of nice to have someone sticking up for me for a change."

"I'll always be in your corner Forbes. You don't have to ever question that."

"Thank you. It truly means a lot. Now why did you call me up here? Surely it was for a lot more than just to chat."

"This may seem like an odd question, but will you dance with me?"

"Where's Camille? I thought you two were working on a routine together."

"She just texted me, turns out she's got a touch of food poisoning and I'm in need of a dance partner who knows Camille's and I's routine. So, what do you say? Will you help me, so I don't fall terribly behind when she's gone?"

"Ugh sure. Do you have the music?"

Smiling, Stefan typed in the song in his search engine and turned his volume up as he went to the speakers to plug in his phone so they could start practicing together.

Pulling her close, Caroline swayed to the music with Stefan as she followed the steps that she had memorized him and Camille doing as he twist and turned her plunging her into multiple dips as her smile grew and grew. It had been a while since she could just relax and have fun and after all that had happened she felt like she deserved it until the doors flew open crashing her back down into her own reality as Klaus and Elena stepped through the doors, a look of pure and utter rage spreading across his face as if her and Stefan had done something wrong. What the fuck was that about? They weren't together so why the hell was he so concerned with what she did now. And why the hell was he with Elena in the first place?

"What the fuck Salvatore? You couldn't even wait a few more weeks until you put the moves on my girl now could you." Klaus verbalized as rage filled every word while he moved closer to the stage with a loom of murder in his eyes. Well he wasn't the only one who was angry. Where the fuck did, he get off treating her like she was his possession?

"I was helping him with his dance Klaus, not that it's any of your fucking business, but Camille has food poisoning and he needed a partner. It was nothing more than just harmless fun." She replied squaring him up.

"That looked more than just harmless fun Caroline. You two looked like you were two seconds away from ripping each other's clothes off and devouring each other."

"How the fuck is that any of your business if we were or not? We're not together anymore Klaus. You can't control what I do with my life or my body. Why the fuck is you acting like a dick? What possible excuse can you have to be judging Stefan or I at this moment when you've been doing nothing but lying to all of us for months?"

Hurt flashed across Klaus face before irritation and rage filled it yet again.

"Fuck it, fuck whoever you want, just try not to catch on a disease when you're choking on dicks to make yourself feel better about yourself." He yelled making her face turn stark white. What the actual fuck?

Before she could get a word out, Klaus turned back slamming the doors wide open as Elena looked back at her shocked while Stefan rubbed her arm.

"Caroline. Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine. Let's just get back to the dance."

"Are you sure?"

"I said I'm fine. Let's just get this over with I really don't feel like being here right now."

Nodding Stefan took her back in his arms as Caroline tried to block out Klaus's hurtful words fighting off her tears thinking that nothing would ever be the same again.

"The shower is free whenever you want to use it." Elena stated knocking Caroline out of her memory as she released the onion, she had been crushing to contain her anger.

"Ugh thanks." She replied throwing the onion in the trash as Elena stepped closer.

"Listen I'm sorry I was such a bitch to you earlier, you have every right to be mad at Klaus after what he had said to you, I guess I'm just tired of all the fighting and I'm sick of seeing you so upset. It's your senior year. You should be enjoying it not dealing with all this bullshit because two bullshit guys who don't give a fuck how you feel or about your mental health."

"I accept your apology and I'll try to play nice, but I make no promises not to shove turkey down his throat if he implies, I'm a whore again."

"And I'll be right here cheering you on, but what if we made him choke on his own words instead?"

"I'm listening."

"You don't have to worry about a thing. I've already made all the arrangements, just go take your shower then go to my room. I got a surprise waiting for you there."

"Aye, Aye Captain." Caroline smiled as she went to go take her shower anticipating what was waiting for her when she came out.

Stepping out of the shower, Caroline looked at her reflection in the mirror wondering how the hell she was supposed to pull this night off when she was still so angry about what had happened on Monday?

Klaus had managed to keep his distance since then, but it was harder to avoid him when he was going to be in the same room. Sighing, Caroline inspected her legs making sure she had shaved every little hair on them as she put lotion on her skin feeling refreshed and ready to take charge of this dinner as she stepped into Elena's room to see what Elena had placed on her bed.

Grabbing the note on the outfit, Caroline flipped it over smiling at the words of encouragement that Elena had wrote on it.

'Make him eat his heart out' Elena had put as Caroline took in the outfit knowing full well that she would.

"Damn girl, I knew that dress would look good on you, but I didn't expect you to look this fire." Elena gushed as Caroline stepped off the stairs twirling around for Elena so she could get the full affect of the dress Elena had lent her. She had to admit it did look bomb on her.

"You're just being modest because you picked it out."

"Yeah, because I knew it would look great on you and it would make Klaus realize that you're a hot piece of shit and you deserve nothing but the best."

"Speaking of Klaus what is this super-secret plan you've been working on."

"It's very simple. Make him jealous."

"How? He's already seen it all."

"Please you and Stefan ooze sexuality when you're not even trying and it get to him, imagine how worse off he'll be if you actually turned on your charm when it comes to Stefan."

"No matter how much I enjoy a good revenge flirting session it wouldn't be fair to Stefan when I know how he feels about me."

"It's because of how he feels about you that he's willing to help us out."

"What do you mean willing to help us out? Please tell me you did not convince Stefan to flirt with me to make Klaus jealous."

"It's not like Klaus doesn't deserve it after what he said plus after Stefan heard that shit, he has no problem doing it to watch Klaus squirm. Getting to flirt with you is just a bonus. Question is are you willing to do whatever it takes to get back at him?"

"This better work." Caroline sighed as Elena smiled excited.

"That's my girl. Now Klaus and Rebekah will be arriving first. I need you to answer the door for them."

"Why on earth would I do that?"

"So, he could get a good look at you of course."

"Sounds simple enough. What else?"

"Play along. Stefan knows exactly what to do."

"Got it."

A knock sounded at the door as Elena inspected Caroline making sure that she was ready to go as Caroline walked towards it pulling it open to reveal Klaus and Rebekah standing thee. A dish of yams resting in Rebekah's hand.

"Hey guys, come on in." she smiled as Klaus looked her up and down seeming unimpressed, so much for that plan, hopefully Stefan did come through or else she would be giving herself this wedgie for no real reason.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked bemused. Shit. She didn't think of that before she threw this outfit on.

"A little but it's a special occasion and I wanted to look nice."

Klaus shrugged not willing to give her the satisfaction of an answer as Rebekah sighed smiling at Caroline.

"It's nice to see you again Caroline. Where can I put these?" she asked gesturing towards the yams.

"Ugh. On the counter." She replied still feeling the weight of Klaus's stare on her.

After Rebekah put the pan down, a knock sounded at the door as Elena grinned from ear to ear, if Caroline didn't already know that she was up to something she would think that the smile was genuine.

Opening the door. Damon greeted Elena with a kiss on the lips making her smile radiate through the room. Caroline wished she could have that, but instead she got the more complicated relationships. What the fuck was that about?

"It's nice to see you too." She smiled as Stefan stepped around the two and smiled at Caroline handing her the tray of brownies Damon and he had brought along with a single rose. What was that supposed to be for?  
"Are you contributing to the center piece?" she asked gesturing to the rose as Stefan's smile grew.

"While that sounds like a great idea, I actually brought this rose for you."

"Oh." She answered biting her lip as he handed her the rose which she took.

"You've had a pretty shitty couple of weeks, I felt like a rose would be a nice way to cheer you up."

"Thanks Stefan. It's beautiful."

Giving her a kiss on the cheek which caught her off guard, Stefan smiled taking a step back as she looked at him in disbelief. What the hell was that for?

"My pleasure."

Before Caroline could continue the conversation any further, Elena clasped her hands together breaking the tension as she announced that it was time for dinner.

Sighing in relief, Caroline made her way to the table sitting down next to Elena as Rebekah took a spot next to her trying to break the tension between her, Stefan, and Klaus. Thank God.

After they gave thanks and said what they were thankful for, they dug into their food as the door swung open and Katherine revealed herself. She had wondered where she had been.

"About time. Where have you been?" Elena asked as Katherine placed her purse on the side table joining them when she was done.

"With Mason. Not that it's any of your business."

"I just would like to know where my sister is, that's all. Turkey?"

"Don't mind if I do." Katherine smiled taking the plate and loading it up with as much food as she possibly could.

"So, Katherine, what are you thankful for?" Lexi asked as Katherine shrugged.

"My friends I guess."

"You're not even thankful for me?" Elena asked batting her eyelashes innocently.

"Maybe if you shut the fuck up every once in a while."

"Go suck a dick Katherine."

"I already did, but whatever floats your boat."

"God, I need a drink." Elena stated shoving her chair back and going to the fridge as the rest of them devoured their food silently.

Bringing the bottle of wine back, Elena poured herself a glass as she placed it in the middle offering it to the others as she took a huge gulp of her glass silencing the argument making Caroline feel an instant relief.

"You two fighting reminds me of the last Friendsgiving I attended." Stefan smiled as Katherine rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, the last Friendsgiving you were here you were with Caroline, so why are you here this year when you're not fucking her anymore?"

"I would like to know that too." Klaus smirked as Caroline grasped her fork tighter.

"Because he's our friend Katherine." Elena answered narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Didn't he fuck her sister?"

"Lapse of judgement on my part." Stefan answered feeling uncomfortable.

"Excuse me. I need to be excused." Caroline said slapping her napkin down and exiting the room going somewhere where she could think.

"Is this how you usually deal with confrontation?" A voice asked from behind her as she turned from the pool and stood up to see Klaus hovering by the sliding glass door. Great. The last person she ever wanted to talk to be the guy that had followed her out here.

"What do you want Klaus? I don't feel like arguing with you right now." She answered dipping her toes into the pool not caring how freezing it was. It felt nice against her flushed skin and right now she needed any sort of relief she could get.

"I don't want to argue with you either. I just want to talk. Is that so hard to understand?" He answered sitting down next to her as she scooted further away from him.

"Really? You just want to talk? Is that why you're being a fucking douchebag to me lately?"

"You haven't been the best person either. Or have you forgotten about that?"

"The only difference is that you're being a douchebag to me because I'm pissed at you which I have a right to be. You lied to me Klaus. You made Hayley seem like the bad guy when you're just as bad as she is. How am I supposed to believe anything you say when you keep secrets like that from me?"

"Because they're my secrets to share Caroline. You just don't understand how hard it is to share a secret like this with someone you barely know."

"Someone you barely know. Seriously? Do you usually try to bang girls you hardly know? I thought you were passed that." She said getting up and walking towards the door before his voice stopped her.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it. Please Caroline, just here me out. What do you have to lose?"

"I can't deal with this shit right now Klaus. All I wanted was some time to myself and you can't even respect me enough to do that."

"Because I'm afraid that I might lose you."

"You already have." She stated as he took her hand surprising her with the heat of his palm.

"Please. Give me five minutes and after that you could walk away. Please, if I lose you at least let me try everything I possibly can to at least salvage what we have."

"Fine, but I get to ask the questions."

"What would you like to know?"

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

"There is never a good time to tell a person you're a former addict and you've been through so much already I didn't want to put you through anymore especially since it's my bullshit to deal with."

"I was your girlfriend Klaus. We should have been able to share our burdens with each other and if you couldn't have trusted me with this secret then how were we ever going to survive in the future when something eventually bigger happens. Are you going to shut me out and push me away then too?"

"I can't give you those kind of guarantees Caroline. No one can, but don't push me away just because you're afraid of that possibility. Why do we need to think about the future right now? Why can't we just live in the moment without complicating things further?"

"I can't take that risk. I'm sorry."

"Why him?" Klaus asked stopping her dead in her tracks.

"What do you mean?"

"Why is it so easy for you to forgive Stefan for something he did to you personally but so hard for you to forgive me for something that happened before I ever met you? Answer me that and then I'll walk away. I'll leave you alone, but I really need an answer and you're not the only one sick of not getting an explanation."

"I've always been honest with you about how I feel about Stefan and hell even I'm figuring out what I feel about him, but I can tell you that your betrayal hurt me more than his because I was starting to fall for you. I was starting to fall for you, and you didn't catch me. You withheld the truth from me about a part of you that I never knew existed. With Stefan at least I knew who he was when I started dating him. I knew who I was falling for. But when I look at you, I feel like I'm looking at a stranger and the person I feel for, well, He's not there anymore. I'm not even sure if he existed in the first place. And that is the most heartbreaking thing that I will ever have the displeasure of knowing. Is that enough of an explanation for you? Or do I need to make myself clearer?"

"I think we should both head inside. The others will start to wonder where we are." He said avoiding her as he walked back inside leaving her to wonder where they stood.

"Are you okay?" Stefan asked as she handed a dish to him stuffing it into the dishwasher as Katherine, Elena, and Damon laughed at a story Damon was telling in the living room. Klaus and Rebekah had opted to leave after Caroline and Klaus had talked feigning tiredness before leaving, but Caroline knew that was a lie just like it always was.

"Do you think I'm being too harsh with Klaus?"

"You're allowed to feel whatever you want to feel. I can't tell you what to do., Only you can do that. If you don't think you're capable of forgiving him then you're not and that's okay. Don't let him push you into forgiving him until you're ready because that's not right. You haven't even had time to process everything with what's happening with Lexi. Have you visited her yet?"

"We're visiting her tomorrow." She smiled thankful for a change in subject.

"Are you excited to see her?"

"Yeah. Though I wished it was in better circumstances."

"Soon it will be. She just needs time. Like we all do."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For talking to me when I needed someone to talk to. It's nice talking to someone without any judgement."

Before Stefan could say anything, Elena stepped into the kitchen grinning from ear to ear. Shit was it that time already.

"Is everyone ready?" Elena asked making Stefan confused.

"For?"

"The best part of the night- Black Friday shopping."


	19. Chapter 19

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 19

"Alright guys we're here." Elena smiled as she put the car in park and grabbed her purse ready for the shopping spree that was ready to ensue.

Usually Caroline and Elena would go on this endeavor alone, but this year Stefan and Damon had opted to go with them. Bad decision on their part honestly. Elena had no chill when it came to Black Friday and they would soon figure this out.

Getting out of the car. Elena, Damon, Stefan, and Caroline took their place in line eagerly waiting for the mall to open.

"It's freezing out here. Why are they making us wait?" Stefan complained bundling up in his jacket as Elena rolled her eyes.

"You could always wait in the car if it's too cold for you." Elena teased as Stefan stood his ground.

"I think I'll stick it out. Thanks anyway." He said as Caroline ignored both wanting nothing more than to get her mind off what had happened tonight. Now that things between her and Klaus were over and done with, her conscious was now sinking in trying to make her feel horrible, but she wasn't going to listen to it. Not tonight anyway. She had way more important things to worry about.

The doors flung open and everyone crammed in ready to get to their destinations as the group found a clear spot to get their plan down before heading out to their first store. Throughout the night, they had gone to various stores getting amazing deals as the night wrapped up and they made it to their last store.

"That would look amazing on you." Elena answered as Caroline held up the red shirt smiling.

"It's for Lexi. We're visiting her tomorrow and I thought I would give her something to cheer her up."

"I'm sure she'll love it."

"I hope you're right." She answered putting the shirt on her arm as she browsed the store.

"Are you nervous?"

"What would I be nervous about?"

"It's bee a while since you've seen her, and she could be completely different by now."

"It's only been three weeks; she couldn't have changed that much since she's been there."

"She's been through a lot Caroline. That can change a person more than you know."

"I'll keep that in mind. I'm going to go pay for this."

Leaving Elena, Caroline took a deep breath and went up to the cash register hoping that tomorrow would go well or else she didn't know what she would do.

"Nervous?" Dr. Fell asked as Caroline taped her foot impatiently.

"What makes you say that?"

"Usually a person taping one's foot indicates nervousness. Are you nervous to see Lexi again?"

"Of course, I am. Why would I not be?"

"It's alright to be nervous. Dealing with a family member with addiction is never easy."

"Yeah, tell me about it and if this is so difficult for me, I can only imagine what it's like for her."

"It's not easy and it's definitely a process, but I have faith that you and your family can make it through this."

"I'm glad that somebody does. My family and I don't have the best track record when it comes to getting through stuff."

"Well I sincerely hope that your luck turns around."

"Thanks. We'll definitely need it."

"Are you ready for this?" Liz asked as Caroline looked at the center, her stomach dropping down to the floor. Why the hell was she so nervous?

"I know the right answer is yes, but I don't think I'll ever be ready for something like this."

"I know. What ever happens we'll get through this together."

Nodding, Liz squeezed Caroline's hand as they went into the center where a receptionist led them to the recreation room where the patients were visiting their families as Caroline's sight caught Lexi's making her stop in shock. She had expected Lexi to look like a lot of things, but not like this.

"Lexi." Caroline said as Lexi's head popped up looking everywhere besides Caroline's eyes as a woman placed her hand on Lexi's shoulder.

"It'll be okay Lexi." The girl said as she turned her attention back to Liz and Caroline. "Lexi is experiencing withdrawal symptoms it's hard for her to focus."

Nodding, Caroline and Liz sat down while Lexi's eyes finally stared into theirs. Shame and disappointment filling them.

"How is everything going at school?" Lexi asked Caroline feeling unsure if it was something she should be asking.

"School is school. Everyone is asking about you and how you're doing, especially Ms. Sommers. She's taken quite the liking to having you around."

"How is everyone else doing?"

"Well Elena is still Elena. I've been staying with her on and off for a couple of weeks."

"Have you talked to Klaus yet? I know you guys weren't in the best place when I was in the hospital."

"How did you know that?"

"Him and Elijah came to visit me in the hospital after the accident and I could tell there was something wrong with Klaus the moment he stepped into my hospital room, so tell me, have you guys made up yet?"

"What makes you think I want to forgive him?"

"Don't you think you're being a little bit selfish?"

"What makes you say that?" Caroline asked feeling annoyed.

"You forgave Stefan for all the shitty things he's done to you. I'm sure whatever Klaus has done isn't nearly as bad."

"You have no idea." Caroline answered with her jaw clenched.

"Enlighten me then. What did he do to you that was so terrible that you couldn't possibly forgive him for it?"

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?"

Keeping her mouth shut, Caroline sighed as Lexi rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair.

"If you don't want to tell me that's fine, but at least try to forgive Klaus. After all you put him through with the Stefan bullshit you owe him at least that. Besides it's almost Christmas. You can't be mad at someone during Christmas. It's not the Forbes way." Lexi said as Caroline felt a twinge of sadness in her soul. That was something their father would always say around the holidays.

"What exactly is the Forbes way anyway?"

"I guess it's time for you to figure that out yourself. Really listen to him and who knows maybe he'll be not as hard to forgive as you originally thought."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Good. Now tell me all the crazy bullshit I've missed since I've been locked up inside here." Lexi laughed making Caroline smile grabbing her hand and telling her what she needed to know.

"She seems better." Her mother said as they drove back to the house.

"I guess that's what happens when you sober up."

"Caroline." Her mother warned.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing."

"She was right you know."

"About what?"

"Forgiving Klaus."

"You're on his side now too?"

"I just don't think being pissed at him for what happened in his past was the right thing to do."

"He was an addict mom."

"Was. Past tense."

"How come everyone expects me to be okay with this shit?"

"Because there was a time when you expected everyone to handle yours. How would you have felt if they treated you like you're treating him now?"

"They did."

"And how did that make you feel?"

"Fuck. I'm such an asshole." She replied as soon as she thought about it.

"It's not too late to change that." Her mother said as she pulled up in their driveway. "Harold is coming over for dinner tonight. Do you want to stay and join us or are you heading to Elena's for the night?"

"I'll be home in a little while, there's just something I need to take care of."

"Take all the time you need." He mother smiled as Caroline got out of the car and prepared to walk to her destination.

Caroline inhaled a sharp intake of breath as she finally made it to Klaus's house. The walk had done her good and had given her a lot of clarity before she had come here to see him. He just hoped he would want to see her.

"Caroline? What are you doing here?" Klaus asked pulling the lit cigarette from his lips as he pushed himself from his porch steps and walked up to meet her.

"Tell me the story again."

"I don't think that's such a good idea-"

"Please. I wasn't listening before. I want to listen again. Really listen."

"Then by all means take a seat."

Nodding Caroline followed Klaus over to his porch and listened to his story willing to make shit right this time no matter how long it took her to do so.

"I'm sorry I was such a bitch to you before. You didn't deserve it." She said once they were done, a cup of soda sloshing around in her hand.

"In a way you had every right to be. I should have told you about my addiction and Hailey. I guess in a way I was just terrified."

"Of what?"

"Of disappointing you. Of not turning out to be the man you deserved."

"The only person I'm disappointed in is myself for how I treated you. I acted so high and mighty that I forgot that other people go through shit too and it's not right to give them shit for it. Especially if it happened before I met you."

"I guess we both have shit to forgive each other for."

"Do you think we can try this again?"

"What? The dating thing or the friend's thing?"

"I think it would be a smart decision for both of us to start by just being friends for now."

"Friends sounds good to me." He said clicking his red solo cup of soda to hers as they both drank to their new and improved friendship.

"Hey Caroline." Her mother smiled as she walked back inside the house to see her mother baking with Harold beside her. Her smile really did light up when he was in the room. "Did you want to join us?"

"Sure." She said pulling her hair up. "Why not?" she smiled thinking for the first time that it was now time to start letting people back in her life. For good this time.


	20. Chapter 20

Dreams and Happy Places

Chapter 20

"So, I thought this Saturday we could shop for our winter formal dresses since I'm obviously a shoe in for queen and I need to look rockin. Caroline, are you even listening to me?" Elena asked as Caroline took her eyes off Klaus who was now talking to Stefan about God knew what.

"Ugh Yeah, of course." Caroline answered as Stefan left Klaus leaving them to now look at each other. Klaus smiling at her as she breathed out. She had to remind herself they were just friends. She didn't want to jeopardize their relationship yet again just because of her feelings.

"Caroline." Elena said waving a hand over his face.

"What?"

"Winter formal. Thoughts?"

"Sounds fun." She answered as Elena sighed. "What?"

"Go talk to him." Elena answered waving at Klaus.

"About what?"

"About anything you guys have been giving each other long lasting looks for the past two weeks and it's getting really distracting. Even for you, so please, go talk to him, even if it's about the stupid weather."

"Alright fine." She answered as Elena smiled.

"You go girl." She smiled as Caroline walked over to Klaus suddenly seeming nervous.

"Hey." Klaus smiled lightning up his face.

"Hey." She smiled feeling subconscious.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked catching her off guard.

"Of course. What's up?"

"Do you think we could hang out after school? I could really use your support on something."

"Sure. Anything for a good friend." She answered wondering what it could be.

"I'll see you after school then."

"Yeah, I'll see you then." She said wondering what she had gotten herself into.

"What do you think he wants your support on?" Elena asked taking a bite of her French fry as Caroline picked at her food. Not feeling that hungry lately.

"I have no idea. Like I told you before Klaus and I had to press the restart button. It's like I have to get to know him all over again."

"You and I know that's not true. You know him Caroline. This part you're discovering right now is just a different side of him. He's still Klaus. The same guy you grew infatuated with. You just have to learn to take the bad side of him with the good. It's the only way you two will work. Whether you're friends or something more."

"You're right maybe I should stop warrying about everything and just let things be."

"That's my girl." She smiled.

"Thanks for coming with me." Klaus said as they were driving to their new location.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" she asked turning up the heat so she would be warmer.

"To the civic center." He answered taking her surprise.

"Why the civic center?"

"Well usually the civic center is for concerts and events, but on Thursdays it's reserved for DAA meetings."

"Today is Thursday."

"I found this group a couple weeks back, I've been trying to ignore my addiction like it wasn't a huge part of my life, but with everything going on now and Christmas coming up, I need this group now more than ever, but this is as far as I've ever gotten. I've never been in before."

"You wanted a person to make sure you go in." she realized.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

"Why me? Why not any of your family? Elijah would have gone with you if you asked."

"You know as well as I do that Elijah isn't the easiest person to talk to."

"He loves you, you know?"

"I know, but sometimes the people that love you are the ones that end up hurting you the most."

"I get that." She whispered as he moved closer to her.

"We should go in then." She replied hoping it would break the tension.

"Are you sure about that? You don't have to do that if you don't want to."

"I want to. The question is, do you?"

"I think I need to."

"In that case. Let's go in."

"Would anyone like to share today?" the leader of the group asked as Klaus squeezed Caroline's hand for reassurance before he took the stage ready to share with the group.

"Hello, my name is Klaus Mikaelson and I'm an addict."

"Hello Klaus." The group replied as he continued.

"Two years ago, I was in a dark place. I met this girl and while it wasn't her fault that I got being with her didn't help my addiction either. I wasn't myself. I hurt the people I loved and what was worse is that I contributed to putting my daughter Hope's life in danger. Something that I'll regret doing for the rest of my life. After my daughter's accident and her mom's overdose, my brother forced me to sober up and be the father that my little girl deserves. And now I've been sober for a year and a half. And I'm not going to lie it's the hardest thing I've ever been through. Some days I'm fine, but other days I hate being sober. Somedays I think it would be easier not to be because at least when people hear you're an addict their looks of disappoint make sense, but when you're getting sober and they're giving you those looks thinking that one day you'll slip up and relapse, well that feeling is worse, because what's the point of trying if no one believes you can do it." Klaus spoke as tears slipped down Caroline's cheeks.

She had no clue he felt that way, she felt so terrible for the way she had treated him. It wasn't fair to judge him so harshly when all he did was try to deal with his addiction the best way that he could.

"But recently I've felt this spark of hope. Like all this pain I've been through has been for a reason." He shared looking directly at her as he said it. "And maybe I'm off base about this. Maybe one day I'll slip, but maybe just maybe my addiction isn't all that I am. Maybe there's hope for me after all. Thank you for listening." Klaus finished as the group clapped and Caroline felt like she was finally seeing him for the first time.

"You were amazing up there." Caroline said as they were walking back to his car after the meeting had ended.

"Thanks, I couldn't have done it without you." He said smiling at her.

"You didn't need me. You just needed to believe that you could do it and you did. I'm proud of you."

Before Klaus could answer her, his cell phone rang shrill and demanding, interrupting his conversation with Caroline as he answered it.

"Hey man, what's up?" he asked as his face falling in concern. "I'll be right there." He replied hanging up the phone running a hand through his hair.

"What happened?"

"It's Hope. She's upset and mom can't get her to calm down. I'll have to take you home and take care of it."

"I can come with you." Caroline blurted out worried that she had stepped over the line.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Let's go."

Crying filled the room as Caroline and Klaus stepped into his house shedding their coats while Klaus stepped into the living room where Hope and his mother were located, tears streaming down Hope's face as Mrs. Mikaelson held her looking up at Klaus passing a crying Hope over to him clinging to his neck and crying into it.

"What's wrong baby girl?" he whispered to her as she shook her head not wanting to talk. "Whatever it is, it's going to be alright. Do you want to go in your room and talk about it?"

Nodding, Klaus looked at Caroline giving her an apologetic look.

"I'll be in her room if you two need me." Klaus told her and his mother before Hope lifted her looking between Caroline and her father.

"Can Caroline come to?" Hope asked as Klaus looked to her for an answer.

"Yeah. Of course." Caroline answered as they headed for Hope's room her dad sitting in the rocking chair with her as Caroline sat cross legged on the floor.

"What's going on Hope? Why are you upset?" Klaus asked.

"Mom called." Hope answered looking down at her shoes.

"Your mother called? What did she say?"

"She told me she couldn't make it for Christmas." Hope answered taking Caroline aback.

"Did she say why?"

"Her work isn't giving her the time off, she tells me she's sorry she can't make it, I'm just upset that she can't make it, because I thought it would be a chance to finally meet her. Now I won't get the chance."

"Listen Hope, I know this may be disappointing now, but there will be plenty of opportunities to meet your mother. This is just a minor setback and I promise you we'll have a great Christmas even without her and maybe during the spring for your birthday, we can go visit her. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah. Thanks dad." She replied as they hugged making Caroline smile.

"Do you think I can be alone?" Hope asked. "I'm not sad anymore, but I am tired."

"Alright. I'll be in my room if you need anything." Klaus smiled as Caroline and him left the room and went to talk in his.

"Hayley was supposed to come for Christmas?" Caroline asked while Klaus shut his door so they could be alone.

"It was Elijah's idea to invite her and knowing how much Hope wanted to meet her mother, I was inclined to say yes."

"Is she-sober?" Caroline asked knowing that it wasn't really her place but feeling inclined to ask.

"From what her family tells me she's on the straight and narrow. And if she stays that way, I see no reason to keep Hope from her any longer."

"Hope is your child. Whatever you decide will be in her best interest."

"Thanks for understanding." He smiled as she returned it.

"I always will."

"So, ugh, I know this may be overstepping and tell me if it is, but do you have a date to the winter formal?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"The last time there was a dance, I blew you off and I'm still kicking myself over it."

"Is that your subtle way of asking me to the dance?"

"Depends, is that your subtle way of saying yes?" he asked stepping closer.

Caroline was about to say yes to his questions when she tripped over something, Klaus trying to catch her, but he ended up falling on top of her instead as whatever she had tripped on hit her back.

"Ow." She cried out as they both laughed in the sheer ridiculousness of it.

"What did you trip on?" Klaus asked grinning from ear to ear.

"Ugh, whatever it is, I'm laying on it. Do you think you could reach underneath me and get it?"

"Yeah. Of course." He answered as his hand slipped underneath her back, her breath hitching up at his touch before he pulled whatever was underneath her out and they both laughed at what it was.

"I can't believe I tripped over a toy." She laughed illuminating her face as he laughed with her.

It seemed like they were laughing for ages before she stopped dead in her tracks suddenly realizing how close they were. How had they gotten this close?

"Klaus." She moaned out before she budged himself an inch just as he moved down closing the space between their lips.

Ever since they broke up, Caroline had longed for his touch, longed for his kiss. Now that they were finally giving into what they both wanted, Caroline realized that what she imagined was nothing compared to what she felt now. What he made her feel was the best feeling that she had ever experienced, and she was a fool to put a stop to it when she knew it was all that she truly wanted.

"I love you." He whispered stopping her dead in her tracks.

"What?" she asked sitting up, Klaus feeling breathless.

"I love you, Caroline Forbes, I love you and I'm tired of trying to hide it."

Caroline froze, she didn't know what to say. After all what could she say. Did she love Klaus? How could she know what she felt for him if they had been fighting for the past several weeks?

Pulling away from Klaus, Caroline filled herself up breathing heavily as she felt it come on. Oh no. She couldn't do this. Not here. She had to go.

"Caroline? Are you okay?"

"It's getting late. I-I need to go home."

"I can take you." He volunteered taking a step closer.

"No, it's alright. Hope need you and I need to be by myself. Thanks for today." She smiled trying to hide the rush of emotions as she left him, his proclamations of love still hanging in the air between them.


End file.
